Change of Fate
by LivyLove448o
Summary: We've seen what happens when Dimitri is captured and turned into a Strigoi. But what will happen when Rose is the one "awakened"? Will she ever find her way back to the Academy and be saved? Or will this change of fate be the end of the Rose we all know and love? Join me in this heart clenching story to find out!
1. Introduction

We were surrounded. There were too many. There was no way we were going to make it out.

Shit.

All these thoughts were racing through my head as I fought on, but it seemed that the more Strigoi I took down, the more seemed to appear.

You see, I've been trained to kill these undead bloodsuckers my whole life, but even the best trained Guardians can be taken down by enough Strigoi.

My name is Rose Hathaway, Rosemarie Hathaway to be exact, and I'm a Dhampir. Dhampirs are the protectors, the guardians, of the Moroi. An ancient race of vampires that have extremely advanced senses and can control elements. Pretty cool, huh?

We are not the evil kind that turn to ash in the sunlight, and suck you dry just for fun. The sunlight actually doesn't bother Dhampirs, and only severely irritates Moroi. And about the blood drinking part? Well, Moroi do drink blood, but not for the fun of killing someone, most only do it to survive. The Strigoi are the bad vampires. They willing suck the life out of anything just for the hell of it, and they find pleasure in killing. Thrive on it.

Strigoi are the demons that humans tell myths and stories about, the ones that are cruel murders, serial killers, taking out anything and everything in their way. That's only putting it mildly.

And right now I'm completely surrounded by them.

A younger looking one boldly steps toward me, asking for a fight. I'd be damned if I didn't give him one. I smirked as he charged toward me, already noticing his loose attack and the holes he left for me to take him out. As he threw a flimsy punch, I ducked out of the way, and stuck my foot out, tripping him. Once he was on the floor it was easy to stake him, so I forged a yawn as drove the weapon into his heart.

I've always prided myself on my humor, but that couldn't get me out of here.

I groaned, exasperated, as four more stepped out of the shadows.

"Rose, come on, just get out of there!" I can hear the other guardians, especially Dimitri, screaming at me to get out, but I can't. There's just too many.

I need to get out of here, and fast.

"Damn it!" I grip my stake tighter and start to fight off the never ending line of Strigoi blocking my escape, but it's no use. All those years of training and this is how it would end. I never even got to graduate.

No.

I'm not going down. Not yet. Not today.

I use every ounce of training, every ounce of skill I have into fighting the, Ten? Twenty? strigoi in front of me.

Just as I'm reaching the end, so close to my freedom, so close to returning to the academy, safe, with Dimitri, I'm pulled back.

All I can feel is a sharp pain in my head and neck.

And then everything goes black.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

'What the hell happened?' I thought as I slowly started to open my eyes.

I was quick to shut them again as a bright light shone above me.

Then it hit me, the events from before came crashing down on me all at once.

Cave. Strigoi. Headache. Dimitri calling my name. Pain. Blackness.

Damn it.

I need to focus.

But before I could even completely comprehend where I was, I realized that I wasn't alone in the room, as a heavy wave of nausea rolled over me.

Strigoi.

Wonderful.

Silently, I moved my hands, only to find out they were heavily bound in thick metal chains. A quick evaluation of my feet proved the same with them. Looks like I wasn't getting out of this one with brute force.

Damn. What now?

I wish Dimitri was here. He would know exactly what to do. Exactly how to escape safely and make it back to him. At least he's safe...

A disturbing realization came across me, interrupting my thoughts, and suddenly the wave of nausea from before seemed like nothing as a stronger wave rolled onto me. I couldn't help the groan that escaped my mouth as my head began to pound, letting me know there were now more Strigoi in the room than before.

"Ah, our lovely Rosemarie is awake."

My eyes snapped open as I heard my name roll off the blonde Strigoi's tongue.

"Its Rose, asshole, and how the hell do you know my name?!" I asked, outraged. Why would some random, dickhead Strigoi know my name?

"Well, my lovely Rosemarie, we have been watching you for quite some time now, I think it only proper if we knew your name, my dear." The Strigoi was tall, at least a foot taller than me, and he wore a blood red robe that touched the floor paired with a black t-shirt and jeans.

Four other Strigoi surrounded the room, watching every little move I made. Why were there so many? Were they really all here to guard me?

There had to be a compliment somewhere in there.

And what the fuck did he mean "watching me"? Why would a group of Strigoi be watching me? This whole thing was not helping me in the headache department, in fact each time this guy talked it only seemed to make it worse, which begged the question of what the hell they hit me with.

But Mr. Dickhead didn't give me time to ask, as he kept talking, "You see Rosemarie, you have something I want, something very important to me. You have a bond with the Dragomir Princess, and that makes you a very valuable asset to me." As he talked he slowly circled me, making me want to shove my stake through his heart even more than before. And now that he mentioned Lissa, well he just made this whole thing a lot harder on himself.

You see Lissa and I have a bond that lets me feel her and her emotions, as well as see through her eyes. That and my natural loyalty to her and her to me, makes me her perfect guardian. And with protecting Lissa, come the fact that she is Moroi royalty, and the last of the Dragomir line, so we've had no shortage of problems with people trying to mess with her over the years. But she is also my best friend, basically my sister. Her family took me in when I was very young, and they treated me like their own. I would never tell some stuck up Strigoi with a big head anything about her.

In fact, I would die before I'd let anything hurt her.

However, as much as I wanted to slowly kill this asshole, my stake was nowhere to be found, and there seemed to be no weapons in the room at all. As well as no way out.

There were no windows in the dark, grey walled room. And the only door was about twenty feet away from me, guarded by three more, burly Strigoi. Not to mention the other four, and the asshole in front of me. The whole room looked like a basement…..or a torture chamber considering the fact I was strapped down to a table.

I snarled as I responded, "You're more of a dumbass than I thought you were if you think I'd ever tell you anything about Lissa."

The pain was sharp and quick, right across my cheek, succeeding in making my head pound harder.

" Watch your mouth Rosemarie. And listen here, you will tell me anything I want to know, and since I am such a nice guy, I'll give you a choice. You can either tell me now and lead me to her, or I can torture you, and eventually awaken you, and have you tell me then. My dear Rosemarie, you would make such a lovely addition to my army."

Well Shit.

* * *

 **Hey Loves! I don't think I've formally introduced myself! I'm Livy, and this is Change of Fate, my own little twist on Vampire Academy. I've had this story on my mind for a long time, and now I'm going for it! I hope you're loving it as much as I am so far!**

 **A little about my writing style and updating process: I update whenever I can, sometimes every few days, sometimes a week. At the most it could take two weeks, and that is very rare. I appreciate reviews, follows, and favorites very much, and they really do push me to want to update sooner and it just brightens my day to know you are enjoying the story. I take great pride in my writing and passion in my stories, and I hope you do too! Please stay positive when reviewing, I don't tolerate negativity, but constructive criticism is welcome.**

 **Thank you for taking the time to learn a little about me, this is Chapter 1 of Change of Fate! Many more to come!**

 **See ya soon Loves!**

 **~ _Livy_**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

 **Dimitri POV**

I watched helpless, as the group of Strigoi took down my beautiful Roza. I fought hard against the Guardians holding me back. All I wanted to do was get to Rose.

"Let me GO!" I commanded them, using my anger into fighting harder against them, but there were more of them on me now, and I couldn't get loose.

'It's no use" "She's gone" "There's too many of them" The Guardians kept repeating themselves, but I blocked them out. She needed me…..I needed her.

A tall, blonde Strigoi, seeming to be the leader in the group, walked behind Roza. She was too busy fighting off the other eleven surrounding her to notice him.

I was about to scream for her to turn around, but before I could warn her, the blonde Strigoi struck Roza, hard in the back of her head, with what seemed to be a large brown rock.

Almost instantly her eyes rolled in the back of her head, and she collapsed to the ground.

"ROZA!" I screamed her name, begging her to look up, to come awake again. But it seemed no use, my beautiful angel was gone.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!" I cussed and spit at the Strigoi as they picked Roza up and began carrying her away. But before I could do any real damage, the Guardians started to pull me away.

"No, let me fucking go! I have to go help her!" No matter what I said, or how hard I fought, the Guardians just kept pulling me away, taking me farther away from my fallen angel, and there was nothing I could do about it.

 **Rose POV**

I don't know how long I've been in this goddamn room, but it must have been a while because my stomach has been throwing a fit for at least two hours.

Once the blonde Strigoi, whose name I learned is Mikheal, threatened to turn me Strigoi I'd completely stopped talking. He had told me he would give me time to make my decision before he decided himself. But what he did not seem to understand is that I'd never tell him anything about Lissa. I had been trained to protect her, my entire life, and on top of that I couldn't surrender her anyway, she's family, and if I had anything to do with it, Mikheal would never touch her.

"They come first" I quietly whispered, "She will always come first." In saying that my mind drifted to Dimitri. My trainer. My mentor. The love of my life. Of course he was important to me, I loved him. He was mine and I was his…..but I had to save Lissa. As much as I loved him, her life was on the line. Leaving him would be the hardest thing I'm ever going to do, but he would be okay. As long as he and Lissa were safe, as long as they had each other, I would be okay too.

The nausea from before had faded, as most of the Strigoi had left the room, and I had no idea when they'd be back, but almost as soon as they left I struggled to find a way to escape, pulling on the chains, searching for another way out, but everything I tried failed. They thought of everything, and now I was trapped.

"Damn it…."

Just as I was determining the chances of me getting out of this fucking basement alive, the door was thrown open, and in strolled Mikheal.

He left no room for me to cuss him out some before he spoke, "I trust you have made your decision Rosemarie." I hated that. He called me fucking Rosemarie. How goddamn unoriginal.

"Go to hell" I responded with a surprisingly calm tone, but his reaction was anything but.

"Oh, my dear, I've been there, quite a nice place, but I am done playing your childish games. I have made my decision, I will awaken you, my dear, but first I want to have a little fun."

* * *

 **Hahaha c** **liffhanger!**

 **Hey Loves! Two updates in one day already! I'm glad to see in the reviews that you guys are already loving Change of Fate as much as I am!**

 **Anyway I want to introduce you guys to a little thing I will be doing at the end of every upcoming chapter. I will be writing a little preview of the plot of the next chapter during the outtro of the last one, so look out for those "What's to Come" sections in the next few chapters!**

 **And remember, the more you all review the faster I'll post new updates!**

 **That's all for today! As always thanks for reading!**

 **See ya in the next update! Bye Loves!**

 **~ _Livy_**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

 **Rose POV**

The pain was unbearable. I hadn't screamed at first, but soon it became impossible not to. Mikheals last words to me kept ringing in my head, "But first I want to have a little fun. You see my dear, you are one of the most feared novices in the world….yet another reason you are of great use to me. If I am able to bring you to your knees, to make you beg for mercy…..well... then I'll be the most feared vampire in the world, and that, dear Rosemarie, is something I want very badly…..".

Obviously I told him to go to hell, that there was only one person in the world who could make me scream, and it sure as hell wasn't some piece of shit Strigoi. Mikheal had laughed in my face at that, and left the room immediately, muttering some nonsense about having to go prepare.I don't think I've ever regretted my words more than I did in that next few hours.

About 20 minutes later, the large metal door of the room opened, and in came about 10 Strigoi, including Mikheal. A few started to lay out a sheet, but Mikheal quickly swatted them off, saying he wanted the blood to stain….that he needed as much proof as possible.

At this point I expected what was about to come. I knew that I was going to be tortured, and I knew that it would hurt like hell...but I never expected hell to hurt this bad.

Mikheal had me pinned, face down, on the table. The cold metal pushed hard against my face as his goons tightened my restraints.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I shouted, struggling as much as I could against the four Strigoi attempting to hold me down. But the words barely made it out of my mouth before the whip struck my skin. I had only cried out in surprise then, the pain was immense, but then I had considered it tolerable...but after about 7 more slashes, I lost it.

"How does it feel to be on the weaker side of things Rosemarie?" Mikheal whispered in my ear as another hit sliced my back. "How does it feel to know you're going to die by my hand, and there's nothing you can do about it?" Another hit….and another...and another. Then it stopped.

Mikheal bent down again, closer to me than before, and whispered, "I'll give you one more chance to tell me what I want to know Rosemarie….one more chance to end all of this."

Even through the blinding pain, I knew that I couldn't do it. Lissa...she's my best friend, my bond mate, and if I was going to die here, I would at least make sure she never would.

"Go. To. Hell" I sputtered out, glaring him down with every last ounce of strength I could.

"I'm already here, my dear…..and soon you will be too." Those were the last words I heard beside my own screams.

Eventually loss of blood won over my will and I passed out, welcoming the darkness as long as it meant a break from the pain.

 **Dimitri POV**

I had to find her.

It has been 24 hours since my Roza had been taken away from me by Strigoi. 24 hours since I have held her in my arms. 24 hours that I haven't known if she's alive or dead.

Once the Guardians had brought me back to the academy the first place I went was to Princess Vasilissa. Her bond with Rose, maybe it could provide some answers…..anything...on what condition Roza was in. I needed to know, I would do anything to know.

I told her everything, starting at Rose's outburst with Jesse, and how the darkness was taking over her and that I had settled her, of course I conveniently left out the part about how exactly I had calmed Roza down then.

Then I told her about the mission to the caves, and how outnumbered we were. How outnumbered Rose was.

As I told her about the blonde Strigoi, she broke down in tears, and I couldn't help but cry with her. Roza was everything to both of us, if anything happened to her…..

When Vasilissa told me that the bond went only one way, I couldn't contain myself any longer. I reached for the nearest thing to me, a lamp, and threw it against the wall, shattering it into pieces.

The princess cried out in shock, "Dimitri stop! We need to focus on finding Rose!" She paused in thought as I struggled to recontain myself.

"Wait" she gasped. "Adrian!" The princess sprang up and ran out the door, I followed closely behind. It didn't take long for us to reach Adrian's guest suite, or for him to answer the door.

"Hello cousin, what brings you here?" I heard his sly, arrogate voice ring.

Adrian was a Moroi of great royalty, much like the princess, however his family was nothing like hers. Adrian's aunt is the Queen, and his family is one of large numbers. Almost as large as their ego's. Adrian was perhaps the most arrogant of all, and he was full of bad habits. But he was special, because, like Vasilissa, he was a Spirit user. His ability was mostly in dream-walking, he could visit others during their sleep and communicate with them….and he had a fascination with my Roza.

"Adrian, it's Rose." Vasilissa cried.

That's all it took, Adrian's entire demeanor changed in an instant, and he ushered us inside.

* * *

 **Hey Loves!**

 **What do you guys think of the Dimitri POV's? They're a little harder to write than Rose's...but I think they suit him and the story... Let me know what you guys think! Should I do an Adrian POV and maybe a Lissa POV as well?**

 **Anyway, what do you think will happen next with Rose? Will Mikheal turn her? Or will Rose save herself first?**

 **What's to Come: In the next chapter, Adrian takes a dream walk he won't ever forget, and Rose makes a drastic decision that will affect everyone.**

 **As always it's a pleasure! Remeber to review/favorite/follow if you liked it! Bye for now!**

 **~ _Livy_**


	5. Chapter 4

**Dimitris POV**

"Belikov" Adrian nodded his head toward me, as Vasilisa and I made our way inside his room. We all quickly sat down as I took a small look around, Adrian's suite was as extravagant as his attitude. Everything was leather, and the colors were rich, seeming to be infused with gold.

"What's wrong with Rose?" Adrian asked, quick to the point...something that was very unusual for him. He'd usually dance around the point of a matter for the fun of it. But now he was more serious than I've ever seen him.

"They let her go on a rescue mission this morning…she...she.." Lissa managed to get out a few words but she lost herself in sobs soon after. This was all too much for her.

This was too much for any of us.

The princesses sobs got Adrian even more concerned.

"Belikov? What's going on?" He raised his voice just enough to snap me out of my thoughts.

"Roza...she volunteered to be apart of a rescue mission to save kidnapped Moroi from a group of Strigoi in the mountains. We all thought she'd be fine…..after her experiences, she...she should've been fine…." I took a deep breathe before I could continue. "We were greatly outnumbered, but we had saved all the Moroi we could, we were retreating….everyone was out but Rose. They surrounded her...she was so so brave….she took down enough to make a path for herself...but she was so busy fighting she didn't look behind her in time to see one of them come at her with a rock. She was knocked out instantly….they took her Adrian...they took her and we don't know if she's dead or alive."

Adrian stared at me with tears in his eyes.

"No…..not Rose…" He got up and paced the floor, his tears now falling down his face.

"Adrian, you need to try and contact her." The princess said, her voice still shaking.

Adrian nodded, and quickly laid down on the couch. "Whatever you do, do not try to wake me, it could break the connection instantly." With that he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on his task.

I hated to admit it, but Adrian was almost as desperate to get Roza back as I was, and a blinding burn of jealousy had briefly hit me, I had to sit and wait here because I couldn't help the girl I loved, but Adrian could help her. I shook my head and ignored it, if Adrian could figure out where Roza is, this would all be worth it.

"This better work" I mumbled before settling myself in a chair near the door for the long wait I was hoping this would be.

 **Rose POV**

Blackness was such a beautiful thing when everything else around you brings pain. But blackness didn't stay with me long, in fact this was the opposite of that, so I knew it had to be a dream.

I appeared to be on a beach. And looking down at myself I was in a bikini top and shorts, a clear blue ocean sat not ten feet from where I stood.

I knew what this was.

This had to be Adrian, there was no way this wasn't Adrian. My emotions soared at the thought of seeing him.

Sure enough, as I turned around taking in the scenery, I spotted the one and only Adrian Ivashkov walking toward me.

I must have looked like shit because his mouth was slightly open in shock.

"Little Dhampir, what are they doing to you?" his voice was barely a whisper but I heard every word.

Ignoring him, I threw myself in his arms, although our relationship was weird and complicated, Adrian was one of my closest friends, and it felt so good to see someone I cared about, and someone who cared about me.

"I miss you so, so much" Which was 100% true. I missed them all, even Sparky, more than I could've ever imagined. Adrian wound his arms around me and held me tight, but he was careful of my aching body.

All too soon, though, he pulled away and held me by my shoulders, searching my eyes.

"Where are you Rose?" he said, mostly to himself, staring at me deeply.

"I don't know, Mikheal knocked me out before we even left the caves…." I hated how I sounded as I told him this. I sounded weak, pathetic, hopeless.

"What do your surroundings look like?"

I took a deep breath and tried to picture the room Mikheal was holding me in. As I did the scenery around me changed, Adrian could now see everything I did when I first woke up in that horrible room.

"It's dark, there are no windows, the walls are grey" I took a deep breathe before I continued, "and there's only one door in the corner, there's no other way out. I'm tied to a steel table. There's no way out." Tears filled my eyes as I whispered the last sentence, but I didn't let a single one out.

I had to be strong.

Adrian took me into his arms again and just held me for a while. It felt so good, and for the first time in days I felt completely safe.

"What are they doing to you Rose? What do they want?" Adrian sounded broken, his eyes were scanning the cuts and lashes that covered my body.

"They want Lissa. They want me to help them find Lissa, but I refuse him every time. Mikheal….let's just say he doesn't like to be told "no". Eventually he whipped me, but that was just for his pride, he knew I wouldn't tell him anything. He just wanted to hurt me. He kept tempting me, holding freedom right in front of me, as if I told him where Lissa was he would actually let me go. Every time I said no, he would just whip me harder….." A single tear rolled down my cheek as I explained myself. "He says I'm the most feared novice in the world," I chuckled at that, "that if he made me "beg for mercy" he'd be the most feared vampire in the world, simply because he took down Rosemarie Hathaway." I shook my head...I didn't feel powerful at all, I just felt weak.

Then a thought occurred to me…

"He's going to turn me Adrian, he going to turn me Strigoi…." I hid my face in Adrian's shirt as I finished my story. I was scared that if I moved he would be gone, just disappear and leave me all alone again.

I didn't want to see his face now anyway...not after I said that.

"We will find you Rose, we won't leave you with those monsters, I promise. Just hold on a little longer Rose…..please just a little longer." And with that I could feel myself waking up, and fading away from the paradise I had just grasped. No, not yet, I haven't said goodbye.

"Adrian listen to me….no matter what you do, keep Lissa away from here, keep her away from me. There is no saving me anymore…." The tears finally began to escape my eyes and roll down my face. "If you see Dimitri...tell him I said, 'что я люблю тебя' and tell him not to look for me, even though he'll want too….I don't know what's going to happen but none of you come after me. It's already too late to save me…… If I can't save myself then…" I took a deep breath, "If I can't get out of here, I'm going to try to die before they can turn me…...but if they do, I'm going to be dangerous, I'm going to come after Lissa, when I do let the Guardians kill me. I love you, take care of yourself and the others...please." I was fading away and fast. "Goodbye Adrian…..".

"Rose please don't do this….plea…." Adrian didnt even get to finish his sentence before the blackness returned.

I silently hoped that wouldn't be the last time I had to say goodbye to him, but I feared it would be.

 **Hey Loves!**

 **How was it? I think this has been my favorite chapter to write so far, I feel like it's the most emotional yet, but with what's yet to come who knows!**

 **What's to Come: In the next chapter everything is going to change for Rose. Or maybe everything will end? You'll see soon!**

 **I hope you all liked it! Remember to review/favorite/follow if you did!**

 **I just wanted to say, I greatly appreciate all the support you guys have been giving me and this story, it means a lot to know you like it.**

 **I'll be back with more soon!**

 **~ _Livy_**


	6. Chapter 5

**Rose POV**

I woke up to the bright light of the room shining down on me once again. Except this time, a shadow blocked a large section of it. Mikheal.

I could feel my back still bleeding out, but now I was flipped back over, the steel table cold and hard against my aching back.

"Don't worry dear, you will heal once you've been awakened." He smirked down at me, probably feeling really good about himself right about now.

What a fucking coward.

"Of course a lot of things will be healed once you become one of us. Your strange need to protect Vasilissa will become nonexistent, most of your useless feelings will." Per to my usual attitude I did the first thing that came to mind and spit in his face.

Maybe a mistake considering he picked me up, by what little room the chains allowed, and threw my back against the metal. It felt like a million needles piercing my skin, but what the hell do I care about pain anymore. Soon enough I'll be dead, one way or another, because no matter how hard I tried to escape I wouldnt make it……

At least now Mikheal decide to leave for preparation instead of taunting me more.

I scanned the room one more time, I had to try to escape, but I'd need a backup plan in case I was caught, someway to….kill myself. I couldn't become Strigoi...it was one of my worst fears, to be an undead, emotionless monster. Yeah, there was no way.

I pulled on my chains, noticing my footholds were gone, they must have thought my injuries would weaken my spirit enough to make me quit trying to live.

A stupid mistake.

Mikheal had loosened my chains on my hands when he slammed me into the table.

Another mistake.

I summoned every bit of strength left in my body and broke the chains off the table.

I smirked.

Dimitri would be proud.

I was exhausted already...but the thought of my friends, my family…..they kept me going.

I could do this.

I had too.

I walked to the steel door to find it locked. Shit.

Thinking fast, I grabbed my old chains and held them tightly, banging them against the knob several times until it fell off. "Hell Yeah" I beamed, a little sliver of hope filling me.

Opening the door slowly I scanned the long hallway outside. Finding it completely empty, I make a break for the stairs at the end and bounded up them, opening the door above them as slowly as my adrenaline would let me.

Nausea hit me again, just as I saw five Strigoi all around the room. But I also noticed something else.

There were windows here.

I saw outside for the first time in days, and I wasn't surprised to see we were the in the middle of fucking nowhere. But that door at the opposite side of the room….that door could be the way out.

Strigoi were hard to fight normally, let alone without a stake, but this room had plenty of sharp objects, including a huge machete against the wall.

I had a chance, and the worse thing that could happen is I use one of the objects on myself.

I decided to go for it.

 **Dimitri POV**

Adrian sat up with a start, he immediately threw the pillow next to him against the wall, tears already falling down his face. I was surprised with his strength, but his lack of communication on Rose was quickly pissing me off.

But before I could ask myself, Vasilissa began talking.

"What is it? What happened? Did you see her? How is she?" Vasilissa began questioning Adrian, despite his ragged state, but I didn't complain, I needed to know how my Roza was.

"She's…" He paused for a moment as if debating his words. "She's not doing very good." His voice was rugged, not at all like his usual sleek tone. He continued anyway, "When I saw her she looked terrible. Lashes covered her body and she looks like she hasn't slept in days. They're torturing her for information."

"What do they want from her?" I was filled with blinding rage. I needed answers, now. These undead bastards were going to pay for hurting my Roza, she didn't deserve any of this.

"They want to know where Lissa is…." he took a deep, shaky breathe, "Dimitri….they've threatened to turn her." And that was all it took. The princess became hysterical. Adrian put his head in his hands and sobbed.

I couldn't move. Couldn't talk. Couldn't do anything. This couldn't happen...this was everything she didn't want, everything she didn't deserve in her life. She had told me before that she would rather die than become one of them. I had to save her, had to get her out, because if I didn't I'd lose my Roza forever.

Just as I was about to get up, Adrian grabbed my arm. "She won't let them...you know that don't you. She's going to kill herself if she can."

I let out a shaky breath. Just the thought of her having to take her own life out of desperation. No, I couldn't let that happen. "I know...but I can't just stay here and wait for her to die….Adrian she's everything to me…..everything. I have to do something. I have to try."

The princess didn't hear our conversation, as she was lost in her own world of pain.

Adrian signed, "I know you want to save her, I do too Dimitri, more than anything do I want her to be here, safe with us….but we will be too late. Her last wish was for us to stay away. She wants us safe….and she wanted you to know "что я люблю тебя".

I love you. My beautiful, amazing Roza had learned how to say "I love you" in Russian just so I could hear it from her beautiful lips. Now I feared that I never would. I lost everything at that. Every emotion hit me like a punch in the face and I fell to the floor, sobbing. I didn't care that Adrian and Vasilissa were watching everything I did. It hurt to much to care.

"Roza….no….not my beautiful angel…..not my beautiful Roza…."

 **Hey Loves!**

 **I honestly can believe how far this story is coming along. When I first thought of publishing something like this, I honestly never thought that anyone would actually like it enough to ask for more. Thank you all so much for showing your support every single chapter through reviews/favorites/follows and even those of you who have messaged me to show your support!**

 **Also, I know this update is a bit later than usual, considering I usually update every day. I have recently been traveling across country to visit my aunt for her wedding! Updates will slow down a bit, but the story will never go longer than a week without a new chapter. Thank you for your patience, as a reader myself I know it can be agonizing!**

 **What's to Come: All I'm going to say is that everything's about to change, for better or for worse...**

 **As always it's been a pleasure! If you liked chapter 5 please feel free to review/favorite/follow me and the story for more!**

 **~ _Livy_**


	7. Chapter 6

**Early update! Hope you enjoy it!**

 **Rose POV**

I threw the door open and grabbed the closest weapon to me, a large machete, and took a swing at the first Strigoi. I had the element of surprise on my side, and my weapon was sharp, taking his head off completely.

One down. Four to go.

"Come on motherfucker" I shouted, making eye contact with the next Strigoi. Somehow my voice sounded calm, meanwhile my heart was beating out of my chest.

My opponent took a step forward and we began circling each other. He was probably the oldest one in the room, this fight could end it all.

I forced myself out of my thoughts just as he made his first move, lunging forward and swinging his arm toward my head. I ducked just in time, but my back protested at the movement and made me groan. The Strigoi smirked.

"My turn" I said as I brought the machete down on his leg, successfully knocking him off balance and taking out a piece of his thigh.

One more stab and this would be over. If I could just finish this one, the rest would seem easy.

I positioned the machete over the Strigois throat and used as much force as I could muster throwing it down.

That could've been the end.

In a perfect world it would've ended there.

But the world isn't perfect, and he figured out my next move too soon, and kicked me away from him, knocking me against the wall.

My back felt like it was on fucking fire.

I was about to attempt getting up when the Strigoi kicked me again."Kicking an opponent while their down, really?" I struggled to say as I spit blood.

The other three surrounded me now...circling me like a vulture circles its prey.

There was no way out of this anymore, not when they were closing in so fast.

Well at least I got one…. and a half…I chuckled at the missing chunk of flesh from the older Strigoi's leg.

Taking a deep breath, I brought the machete to my throat, closing my eyes.

This was it, this was my end.

I saved Lissa, I did my job, finished my purpose. I only hoped she'd live a long, happy life now.

Taking my final breath I realized I was okay with this ending to my story...I kept everyone I cared about safe until my final breath…..that's what mattered.

This was it.

I whispered my final words as I sliced the blade across my neck, "Dimitri I love you…."

Blackness

 **Lissa POV**

Something's wrong. Something's very, very wrong.

"Christian!" I yelled. What's happening to me? My head was killing me and I felt cold, alone….like something was missing.

Like _someone_ was missing.

Rose.

"No….." I whispered, just as Christian came into the room.

"Liss what's wron…..Lissa whats happening? What's wrong?" He ran to me and held me as I sobbed. "Ca...Call Dimitri and..A-Adrian…" I managed to say right before I blacked out.

Then something happened, something that should've been impossible.

I saw through Rose's eyes.

I saw the room, she called it a torture chamber and laughed to herself about the irony.

I felt her pain as she was whipped, and I felt her resolution about protecting me at all costs.

I saw her black out, and reawaken to a Strigoi she called Mikheal.

I heard him talk to her, his voice made her shiver, I felt her fear.

I saw her decision to die rather than be turned into a monster.

I watched her escape, felt the bit of hope return as she killed the first Strigoi, only to be pinned and cornered by the rest.

I watched her bring the machete to her neck.

I heard her last thoughts about protecting the ones she loved.

I heard her final words.

Then all I saw was black.

 **Hey guys!**

 **That was chapter 6! It was a bit shorter than usual, but Lissa's POV felt like the perfect place to end it.**

 **Speaking of which, what did you guys think of Lissa's POV? Did it seem accurate enough given the circumstances? Lissa's came very easily to me, almost as easily as Rose's, but that doesn't mean it was good, so give me some feedback!**

 **This story will remain with four POV's at the most, with the main being Rose's, and the others that may show up every once in a while being Dimitri's, Lissa's, and Adrian's. They are all going to be key perspectives throughout the story, so please let me know how you feel when a new POV comes out :)**

 **What's To Come: Everyone's reaction to Rose's death.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 6! Let me know what you think by reviewing!**

 **See you all soon!**

 **~ _Livy_**


	8. Chapter 7

**Lissa POV**

It was like a fire was raging inside of me, burning down everything that I loved as it swept through my soul. Stealing the one thing I thought I'd always have…...the one thing I knew I'd never lose. Stealing away my first and best friend, my protector, my shoulder to cry on, my partner in crime, my sister.

The only family I had left.

Once I had woken up everything had changed…..and there was no going back anymore.

At first, I locked myself inside my room, trying so desperately to block out the entire world, to pretend she was still here, safe, alive.

Then I lost it. I screamed, threw things against the wall, taking out my anger on the world for taking away my best friend.

I didn't know what to do, how to cope. Rose and I had always had each other, through everything we knew that nothing could hurt us when we were together. We thought nothing would ever separate us, that it was impossible. We believed that through all the bad things in life, we would always have someone to talk too, to reassure us, to protect us. We believed we'd never lose each other.

How could this have happened?

She didn't deserve this. She deserved to live a long life, doing what she loved with who she loved. She deserved to be happy, to travel, to experience everything life had to offer, to truly live.

How could I let this happen to her?

I should've told her not to go, I should've begged her to stay. I should've come up with an excuse that would've convinced her not to leave. I should've done something to save her. Anything to keep her safe.

Instead I did nothing while she suffered, while she fought for her life all I did was cry and feel hopeless.

What kind of friend was I?

Rose's memories, they showed me everything she went through, all the pain and suffering she endured for me. She died to protect me.

When we were younger, we used to play a game, pretending that there were Strigoi near and Rose had to keep me safe from them. We always knew the fate we had ahead of us. That she'd be my Guardian, that she'd have to fight for me.

I guess I never really realized the fact that she could die trying to keep me safe.

Why would I? We hadn't even graduated yet, we weren't supposed to have thought about these things for years.

But I still should've thought about the possible consequences to her fighting. To her leaving.

I was so stupid.

This was all my fault.

 **Dimitri POV**

I was in a meeting when I got the call to get to the Princesses room as soon as possible. I had been trying to organize a team to go after Rose, one way or another I wouldn't leave her.

Over the phone, Christian had sounded panicked, scared, so of course I rushed out of the meeting and ran to Vasilissa's suite. I thought maybe this had something to do with Rose.

I was right.

I wish I was wrong.

When I had arrived the first thing I heard was the crying.

Christian was trying to keep himself together and coax the princess out of her room. She was repeating some phrase over and over again, but all I could hear was mumbling, so I moved closer. That's when I noticed Adrian sitting across the room. Tears were streaming down his face and he seemed to be in shock….

His eyes snapped to mine when I started getting closer to the bedroom door. He looked so lost.

That's when I heard the Princess clearly.

"She's gone….she's gone...she's gone…." the princess cried.

The whole world slowed down.

No. This couldn't be right.

I marched toward Chiristian. "What the hell is she talking about?" I struggled to remain in control of myself.

"Dimitri…...it-it's Ro-Rose.." The tears finally started falling down his face as he spoke.

Across the room Adrian was still looking at me. I couldn't look back.

I couldn't face this.

"No…..no you-you're wrong. She's not dead…..she can't be." I turned back to leave the room, to go take my team and track her. To save her. Something I should've done days ago.

She's alive. She has to be.

Before I got to the door Adrian was in front of it, blocking my way.

"Adrian move." I grunted, trying to get around him. I had to get to Rose.

"Look at me Dimitri." I kept my eyes down and pushed Adrian out of the way, but he grabbed my arm.

I growled at him, yanking my arm back, but he wouldn't let go.

"Adrian let me go."

"Not until you look me in the eye." he responded calmly.

"This isn't something you want to push my buttons about, Ivashkov. I have to go to Rose." My voice sounded colder than usual, disconnected somehow.

Adrians grip on me tightened, "Dimitri, look me in the damn eye."

He was wasting my time, but something in his voice made feel like I had to look up.

I did.

His eyes were red and puffy, and they looked dark around the edges, like he hadn't slept in days. As I searched his eyes, I felt something warm fill me.

Magic.

The magic flowed through him to me, filling a void inside me and making my vision darken.

Suddenly I was on a beach.

Crystal waters and a soft breeze surrounded me.

I spun around, "What the hel-"

That's when I saw her.

Long, dark hair trailed down her perfect caramel skin leading my eyes to her hips, her legs….then I noticed the markings.

She had lashes and bruises all over her body and, bringing my eyes to her face, I noticed her eyes were red and puffy.

But she was still here...she was still alive.

I ran to her, screaming her name. "Roza! ROZA! I'm here, you're alive! You're alive!" I tried to throw my arms around her, tried to feel her warm embrace just one more time, but instead my arms went through her.

Wait. No.

This wasn't real.

This was a memory.

I was struck with the realization that this must be Adrians last conversation with Rose. That Adrian was somehow showing me this through his magic.

This was Rose's last conversation with anyone.

No….I couldn't think like that. She's alive. I will find her. This dream could help me find her.

I raised my eyes back to her. Even though it hurt to see her here and know she was still miles away, this memory could aid me in tracking her and bringing her home safely.

She was still searching the scenery when Adrian appeared, and didn't notice him for a few minutes. But, as soon as she met his eyes she ran to him.

I couldn't help but smile as she tackled him. She was always so enthusiastic.

Is. She is always enthusiastic.

'She's alive', I reminded myself. 'She has to be'

I listened intently as she and Adrian talked.

My mood lowered once again.

They spoke about her location, but there wasn't much to go off of. Rose hadn't seen anything since the caves but the room they kept her in.

And then they spoke of the blonde Strigoi from the caves.

The bastard who stole her from me.

Mikheal. I'm going to kill the son of a bitch.

There was a moment of silence before Roza spoke again. The tears swelling in her eyes caused some to jump into mine.

"There is no saving me anymore…. If you see Dimitri...tell him I said, 'что я люблю тебя' and tell him not to look for me, even though he'll want too…

I cried as she spoke. Hearing her say "I love you" to me for the final time killed me.

I wouldn't let it be the final time. I couldn't.

She continued, "I don't know what's going to happen but none of you come after me. It's already too late to save me…if I can't save myself…..If I can't get out of here, I'm going to try to die before they can turn me…"

I feel to my knees as she finished. I've never seen her look so….hopeless….the fire in her eyes, I couldn't see it anymore.

This was my fault. I could've saved her.

What have I done?

Suddenly the beach was gone and I was in a dark room.

The walls were gray, it looked like a basement because of the lack of windows. Behind was a large metal door.

In front of my was a small table covered in blood, and on it…

No…..

Rose lied on the table, so drenched in blood that it was dripping from the table onto the floor.

How could I have let this happen to her? How could I have been such a fucking coward as to let her slip away from me.

She looked so tired, so scared…..so lost.

Then she awoke, capturing my attention from the blood, her blood, to her face.

She groaned as she tried to sit up and began yanking on her chains, over and over, wincing every time she moved.

I cried watching her suffer.

Suddenly the door behind me opened, and in strolled the motherfucker who took away the love of my life.

Mikheal.

He leaned down, and spoke to Rose a hushed voice, so quiet I had to strain to listen.

"Don't worry dear, you will heal once you've been awakened." he smirked down at her.

"Of course a lot of things will be healed once you become one of us. Your strange need to protect Vasilissa will become nonexistent, most of your useless feelings will." he laughed.

I growled and got to my feet, ready to put him down. But just like Rose, I couldn't touch him.

This was fucking torture.

She spit in his face, her attitude coming through once again.

Mikheal glared at her wiping her saliva off his face before he grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and slammed her bleeding back onto the table.

"You Motherfucker!" I screamed as she cried out.

"I'm going to kill you for hurting her, you son of a bitch!" I knew he couldn't hear me, but I didn't really care. What I said was the truth, I was going to end him.

As I finished my thought, Mikheal left Roses table and strolled out the door, muttering nonsense on the way.

I slowly got up and walked toward her. The sight of her so broken both mind and body killed me.

"I'm so so sorry Roza….I will save you. I won't leave you here all alone." I whispered.

Then something surprising happened, Rose began to yank on her chains again. Wincing at the movement, but pulling as hard as she could.

She's trying to break them. She's going to try to escape.

The realization was like a punch in the face. If she tried to escape, I couldn't help her. She'd be on her own.

The next few minutes would determine everything for her. Everything for all of us.

Finally she broke them, and my strong girl had the courage to grin at her success.

I couldn't be prouder of her.

She got up and began slowly making her way toward me.

With a bit of hope I called her name.

"Roza….?" But she walked right through me. More tears streamed down my face…..if this is her end, I didn't even get to say goodbye.

The door opened once she broke the handle off it, using her broken chains, and I followed her out.

She scanned the hallway, and apon seeing the door at the end, she looked a bit...hopeful.

Yes….I saw the spark in her beautiful brown eyes return as she raced down the hallway.

I jogged with her, soaking up every bit of her, there was no way she was dead. She's going to fight her way out of here, she will make it. Right?

Behind that door held another room, this one was bright, filled with windows….and Strigoi.

But Roza didn't give up. Of course she didn't, she never would. She's too strong too.

A conveniently placed knife sat ready for her. She grabbed it off the wall and sliced through the first one. I couldn't help but smile, she was so brave. I knew she could do this. She had to.

The second to challenge her was old, very old. I looked at her.

She was smiling at her first kill, her eyes sparkled with challenge, her adrenaline spiking through her body. She couldn't die here.

"Come on, motherfucker." My head snapped at her voice. Her beautiful, strong voice.

She looked so confident, so ready to fight. She hid her fear and pain so well, but I saw it in her. She was terrified.

The Strigoi lunged at her, and I couldn't help but to jumped in front of her, every instinct in my body was made to protect her, of course it didn't work, he went through me like a ghost.

I was useless to her.

They fought a bit, she even had the upper hand, until he slammed her into a wall.

She slid down the wall, falling to the floor like a broken rag doll.

No, Roza.

I screamed for her to get up, begging her too, and she tried, but the asshole kicked her when she even moved.

She spit blood and groaned, making one of her snide comments, her eyes wild…..searching for a way out.

There was none.

I saw her fading again.

"No….Roza, run! Rose, please! You have to make it out, I need you. Please!" I screamed for her. But I knew it was useless.

This couldn't be her end…..

She seemed to find a conclusion within herself as she brought the blade of her weapon to her throat.

That's when I began to sob, losing control.

"No…..no Roza….No...ple-please. I need you, more than anything in this world…..I need you so much it hurts. It hurts... so much. Please don't leave me here all al-alone. Roza….I love you, so so much. Just don't leave me." I sobbed, speaking so much that I almost missed her last words.

"Dimitri.." No….please don't say it...I won't be able to take it.

"...I love you."

She sliced the blade across her throat.

"Roza no….."

She's gone…

She's gone and It's all my fault.

It's all my fault.

* * *

 **Hey Loves!**

 **This is the biggest chapter yet for Change of Fate, so I'd _really_ love some feedback from you all. This chapter is meant to capture a bit of how Rose's closest friends would feel without her in their life, so I spent extra time working on it. I'll admit this chapter was defiantly the most emotional for me. Just imagining how these two must have felt losing someone so valuable to them, in such a sudden and terrible situation really hit home for me, seeing as I just lost my Papa yesterday...he was suffering from dementia and it was his time, but it still felt so sudden. Please pray for him if you believe in that. If not thank you for just letting me get that out.**

 **Anyway, I hope it really immersed you as well. I know this chapter left a lot of questions out in the open, like how exactly Dimitri saw Rose outside of the dream Adrian admitted him into, and why Adrian would put Dimitri into the situation of seeing all of this, but don't worry you'll find out soon enough in the next chapter!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed it, if you did please review/favorite/follow for more!**

 **~ _Livy_**


	9. Chapter 8

**Adrian POV**

I gasped as I was pulled out of the Spirit influenced trance.

What the actual hell just happened?

When I realized Dimitri wasn't going to admit to himself that R-... that she was gone, I knew I had to show him the dream walk I'd had with her. That he had to see her final conclusion, her determination to end everything before becoming Strigoi.

He had to get this through his damn head before charging out into the world like some hero, tracking down the place of her captivity and finding her already gone.

I had only meant to show Dimitri the dream walk I'd had with her. I mean hell, that's all I had even experienced with her, how did we see the entirety of her experience after being taken?

Rose, it hurt so much to think of her, to even imagine never seeing her again….how could that have happened to her? All the pain, the suffering she endured. Every threat, every whip, every single tear she had to cry. Her death. Everything she went through.

We were her friends, her family, we were supposed to be there for her.

I turned to my right to see Dimitri on the ground. He was turned over so that he was kneeling, his face in his hands, sobbing.

Everything was in slow motion. I felt so numb, so empty.

I kneeled down, placing my hand on Dimitris back, attempting to comfort us both, I certainly knew we needed it. He didn't respond, continuing his grief.

I didn't blame him, but I didn't leave either. I stayed with my hand placed on him, that is until I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning back around I found Lissa standing over me, her face red, her eyes puffy, and tears streaming down her face.

So that must've been how we saw what we saw. Lissa must have experienced it first, and used her magic to interrupt mine and transmit her own memories. Her power was always a bit more advanced than mine.

But none of that mattered much anymore...we saw everything Rose had to go through to keep Lissa safe...to keep us all safe, because God only knows everyone in this room would've had to die before the Strigoi took Lissa from us too.

Of course Rose knew this, she was always one step ahead in these types of situations.

Right now I wish she wasn't...maybe then she'd still be here.

Sure if Rose hadn't of made up her mind to die or escape than a lot of things could be different. Sure, she could still have died, she still could've been locked in that room...she could've turned.

But at least there was some chance of her living. Even if it was slim...

Thankfully, Lissa interrupted my thoughts as she brought her hand to my face and I looked up to face hers.

She looked as broken as I felt.

I must've been crying as well because she wiped a tear off my face and dropped down next to me, crying into my shoulder.

Christian wasn't far behind, wrapping an arm around Lissa's shoulder and placing his hand on mine, so that we were all connected.

So there we sat, all four of us grieving one person. One amazing person who we all loved in our own ways. One person who brought us laughter, strength, and most of all love.

Because if we knew anything it was that Rose loved each of us, unconditionally and completely. Her devotion….it was one of the many things that made her, her.

She didn't deserve to die for it.

 **Lissa POV**

When I heard Dimitri yelling at Adrian to let him leave, that he had to go 'save' Rose, that's when I knew I had to do something.

Rose wouldn't want him to search for her when there wasn't anyone to find.

I choked at that thought.

She was gone. Rose was...dead.

I don't think I'll ever be able to truly process that.

In fact, I know I never will.

I had to stop Dimitri from experiencing more pain for longer than necessary, Rose wouldn't want him to suffer like that.

She wouldn't want any of us to suffer like that.

They needed to know everything.

I burst out of my room to find Adrian facing Dimitri, his hands on his shoulders, his eyes focused. They seemed to be in some sort of trance.

I looked over at Christian, he was staring at me.

His face broke my heart into even smaller pieces.

In the rush of emotions I endured after experiencing Rose's capture, I had forgotten how he must have been feeling, he had lost his friend too, and I surely wasn't comforting him.

We were all broken right now. I think a piece of us always will be.

"I love you…" I mouthed to him silently, turning to walk toward Adrian and Dimitri.

I worked out that Adrian was using his magic fairly easily, so I gently set my arm on his hand.

Instantly I was in one of Adrian's dreamwalks….Rose was here.

This was the dreamwalk he'd had with her. The last one she'd ever have.

A fresh wave of grief hit me when I thought of all the pain Rose went through for me.

I knew what I had to do now.

I took a deep breath as tears made their way down my face and concentrated on transmitting the memories I had went through when I had seen through Rose's eyes. I felt them inside me, and pushed them out and into the atmosphere Adrian had created to transmit his own experience.

I hated every second of those memories. I hated having to see her like this again.

At least I got to see her again.

When it all ended, when the transmission was over and the magic faded, I was once again pulled into the current reality.

The one where Adrian was kneeling next to a broken-hearted Dimitri. Because now I knew what must've been going on between him and Rose to have caused him to respond like this to her death. He loved her...perhaps almost as much as I did.

This reality...it wasn't much better than the one of the past. Rose was still gone.

At least now we all knew the truth.

I kneeled beside my cousin as he looked up at me, I've never seen Adrian look so hopeless, then again it was Rose that he lost.

It was Rose that we all lost.

Christian came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, doing his best to comfort me while falling apart on his own. I reached my free hand up to his arm and held him here.

We all needed each other right now, we probably always would need each other now.

So, as we held each other I set a silent prayer to Rose.

'Rose, if you can hear me….know this: We all love and miss you more than anything, you don't know how much your loss hurts. And I understand why you did what you did... I couldn't thank you enough for keeping me safe, even if I wish you wouldn't have. Rose,' I thought looking to the three boys around me.

'I'll keep them safe, I promise. I love you sister. More than you'll ever know.'

 **Rose POV**

At first darkness had consumed me, there was nothing around me but black.

'So this is what hell looks like?' I laughed to myself as I scanned the blackness surrounding me.

Then Pain. Deadly, searing, blinding pain. I might have screamed, I might not have. I have no idea anymore, but I knew it hurt more than anything I've ever experienced. I couldn't even think, but somehow I knew.

'No, _NO, God no, please_ , don't do this to me. _Let me die. PLEASE!"_

So much pain.

Fear.

Dread.

Numbness.

Painless.

Emotionless.

Power.

A foreign feeling filled my body as I felt everything and nothing all at once. I was surrounded by darkness, but I saw everything so clearly. It was like suddenly everything made sense, like I knew all the world's secrets. Like I was completely and undoubtedly unstoppable. Like no one could ever stop me from getting what I want again. Like I owned the whole goddamn world.

I smirked before I even opened my eyes, suddenly everything seemed pointless, but not in a bad way, not like life is pointless. More like feelings are stupid and laws don't exist, like life is my playground and I'll be damned if I don't play in it.

"Welcome back my dear." The voice was slimy and too rich for its pathetic excuse of a owner.

Mikheal.

Revenge spiked inside me, he thought I'd be his willingly soldier, his perfect servant once he awakened me.

He was sadly mistaken. I was more powerful than I'd ever been.

My newfound power surged through me, I knew I was stronger than him, I knew that I was stronger than any of them now.

And I loved every second of it.

Oh yes... _this_ is going to be _fun_.

* * *

 **Hey Loves!**

 **So, the return of Rose, huh? What do you guys think? This defiantly a big turning point in the story, but we all knew it may happen! What do you guys think Rose will do now? Does a part of her still want to protect her friends? Or does she want to end them?**

 **I guess we'll find out soon! If you like this chapter please review/favorite/follow for more! And don't go far, because chapter 9 is coming soon!**

 **See ya soon!**

 **~ _Livy_**


	10. Chapter 9

**Rose POV**

My sense were extraordinary to say the least. Everything about the world was so different. Colors were brighter, more vibrant, smells were stronger, I could feel every single texture in everything I touched.

It was _fucking amazing_.

Except for the part of Mikheal already pissing me off, "It's wonderful, isn't it Rosemarie? Can't you just feel the power inside you? The strength you now possess?" His voice seemed deeper now than it had before my awakening, almost mature sounding, but he was still the most arrogant motherfucker I knew.

I turned around slowly and glared him down. His face changed a bit, sinking into itself for just long enough for me to know he was ever so slightly afraid of me. But then it was gone, replaced with his signature, smug grin

"Aren't you glad I had mercy enough to awaken you, Rosemarie?" He drew out my name like a child, just to piss me off more.

"Mikheal, if you don't stop calling me Rosemarie, I won't hesitate to rip that fucking grin off your face." He didn't seem to understand how serious I was about killing him, the only reason the asshole was still breathing was because I wanted information.

When I had first waken up from my transition, there had been the overwhelming sense of power. It consumed me at first, and had only now began to settle as my body got used to my new abilities. As it settled so did my mind, and memories had flooded back to the surface, reminding me how I got here, and what I'd left behind in my old life, my mundane life.

People I had called friends, friends I had called family, it rushed me like a flood. The weirdest thing about it?

I had absolutely no sentimental feelings toward any of them.

No love, no need, no useless heartfelt emotions at all.

No, the only 'feeling' I had was disgust in myself over the fact I had put them above myself so many times, crying for them, killing for them, dying for them. All the pain I went through to keep Lissa and Dimitri safe.

 _'They're you're family.'_

Oh wonderful, another thing that kept pissing me off, the voice in my head that wouldn't shut the fuck up.

It seemed to be a small remainder of the old Rose Hathaway, the Damhpir one, still living inside me. Mikheal warned me about it, saying for the first week or so of my life it would sit in my head and annoy the fuck out of me, reminding me of my past life, everything that I once held dear, but that in less than two weeks it would be gone, and any remnant of Rosemarie Hathaway, Dhampir and future Guardian, would be erased forever.

No more worrying about Lissa, no more caring for Dimitri, no more 'family', no more friends. I'd finally be free.

Of course I'd have to get rid of Mikheal first, he still believed I would join his 'army' to take down the Moroi kingdom and kill the remaining royals. He was nuts if he thought I'd ever work for anyone ever again, let alone him.

Pouting he began to speak again, as if I needed more reason to put his ass down, "Tsk, tsk, how rude darling, you'd think you'd be more grateful after all I've done for you."

I rolled my eyes at him, what a dick wad.

"You've done nothing for me but get on my nerves, now tell me, where the hell am I?"

He chuckled, shaking his head lightly, "Rosemarie, Rosemarie, patience please! I still have much to teach you before you attempt to go off on your own. There is so much more you need to learn!" He said this with such self conceited tone, like I was child being disciplined. I was so tired of waiting on people to be happy before pursuing my own wants. So tired of letting people walk all over me.

I didn't have to let anyone treat me as a lesser ever again. I was the superior now.

With that thought, something came over me, and suddenly all I could hear was the way he said my name, _Rosemarie_ , the way he had hit me before my awakening, _Rosemarie,_ the way he acted as though he was so much greater than me, _Rosemarie_. The burning desire to get revenge overwhelmed every other priority I had, my instincts on auto-pilot as my eyes hazed over.

All I saw was red, all I felt was hate, it reminded me of the way I'd lost control with Jesse, but now instead of fighting it, I welcomed it, letting it flood my body and fuel my rage.

Turning around to face him, I quickly wrapped my hand around Mikheal's sleek neck, raising him in the air. He weighed nothing to me. He was like a feather, a feather that I badly wanted to burn.

I laughed as he choked above me writhing over loss of breathe, even if it wouldn't kill him, and my demeanor became something much darker than it ever had been before.

"You seem to forget, _Mikheal_ ," I growled, my voice was so much more than it used to be now, so much more drawn out, so much more intimidating, "that you had the nerve to torture me in your little basement for days before I tried to kill myself. It took you almost a week to awaken me, almost a week until you finished your little game." He was trying to pull my hands away now, kicking at my body and scratching my hands.

I felt nothing. He was like a mouse trapped in it's predator claws. I smirked, "Remember, I was the most feared novice to walk this planet before my awakening. You're little game just made me ten times stronger than before, I could kill you and all your little buddies with the flick of my wrist. Don't play with me." I growled, figuring now that he knew this wasn't his game anymore, maybe he'd be a bit more cooperative.

I released him, and watched with satisfaction as he hit the floor, gasping. I knew the lack of air I provided him with wouldn't kill him, but it felt so rejuvenating to watch him suffer as if he were dying.

"Well then…" Mikheal stuttered as he rose to his feet. "I guess I should remind you who's the sire and who's the student here." He grunted, facing me once again.

He really didn't get it, the little bit of control I had regained went away once again as I saw his eyes darken.

This was going to be fun.

Mikheal must have seen the gleam in my eyes as well, because as I began to circle him, he followed my pattern, "Oh, Rosemarie, you've so much to learn. I'm your sire, you won't be able to kill me."

The smile on my face only grew. "Mikheal, you've underestimated me too much."

I lunged at him, knocking him onto the ground, my new speed was incredible.

He pushed me off of him, tossing me into the wall nearby, his age showing in his strength. I laughed as my back hit the rough surface, it barely even hurt.

He chuckled too, watching me closely, I don't know how he can be so at ease right now, then again I laughed first.

But I wasn't going to die today.

I sat on the floor for less than a second before I swung out my leg, tripping him. Mikheal landed on his back, groaning loudly, but a smile still playing on his face.

What the fuck?

I kicked him, hard, while he was still on the ground, keeping the upper hand and reminiscing the way his men had kicked me on the ground as well.

My eyes clouded over once again, rage filling me for the seond time in less than ten minutes. I kicked him again, and again and again, once for each of his lap dogs who drove me to death.

Giving him one last, hard, kick, I sent him into a wall.

I watched as Mikheal started to get up across the room, and charged him before he could, punching him square in the face, and then pulling him up by the collar of his shirt.

I'm so completely unstoppable.

Throwing him onto the ground, I straddled him, wrapping my hands around his neck again. Something was just so satisfying to me about cutting off the air supply that allowed him to breathe, to speak, to say my name with his slimy voice.

Still holding him on the ground I searched the room with my eyes, and found exactly what I was looking for.

A window.

Of course it was closed, seeing as it was day time and the sunlight is fatal to us, but with a simple flick of my wrist that window could be opened.

Mikheal would burn.

"You see Mikheal, I've had about enough of your silly games, and seeing as you refuse to answer my questions….well I guess you are of no use to me." I mocked him, using his own smirk and silk voice against him.

I picked him up, once again, and carried him toward the window.

"Rosemarie this is getting old, put me down. I am your sire, you cannot kill me." He exclaimed, he sounded so sure of himself…..too bad he was wrong.

"Wrong again buddy." I smiled, but quickly changing my voice into a low growl, "Remember my face, because it's the last one you'll ever see."

"Don't. You. Dare." he said, his voice low, deadly.

Too bad I didn't care what he said.

I opened the window with one hand, careful to avoid the sunlight, and used my other to toss him outside.

"ROSEMARIE, YOU WILL REGRET THIS!" I watched him scream out and curse my name, burning as the sun carved into him. I muttered turning away from the window, the rage consuming me dissipating as Mikheal burned behind me.

No, I don't think I will.

 **Dimitri POV**

It's been one week and 2 days since Roza was taken. One week since I've even attempted working at the academy. Two days since she left me and headed for the stars. And 47 hours since I learned of her death.

I feel like I'm losing my mind.

Every breathe I take feels like my last, sometimes I almost want it to be.

Everyday it gets worse. I can't seem to find enough energy or momentum to do anything, most of the time I find myself laying on top of her bed, over the sheets and all, just staring at the ceiling. I can't help but picture a different life, one where it isn't forbidden that we be together, one where we could have a normal, happy life, one where she was still alive.

I daydreamed 24 hours a day about a life I'll never have, with a girl who isn't even alive, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

At least while I'm dreaming she's with me, laughing at her own jokes, training in the gym, wiping frosting on my face while cooking. Anything I could imagine, just to be with her one more time.

Anything to have a little peace from the storm raging inside of me.

I imagine the others aren't fairing much better than me. The princess doesn't talk much anymore, Adrian adapted his old ways of resorting to alcohol and cigarettes to ease his pain...I don't think it's working. Christian spends his time in the library above the academy or comforting Vasilissa.

Rose would be so angry if she knew we were mourning her like this. She'd probably tell us to 'get the hell off our asses and go do something'. I laughed just imagining her.

I missed her so much.

When she was taken, I had been so scared, I couldn't fathom losing her, but now that I had...the world seemed so black and white, like when Rose left, she took all the color, all the life, with her.

The only thing I could do was dream about how things used to be before he took her from me.

 _Him._

Blonde hair, a robe that brushed the caves, stone floor, black jeans, blood red eyes.

I haven't taken much thought to the blood sucking demon that took Roza away. I had been so focused on saving her before, and so focused remembering her now, that he hadn't crossed my mind.

But now that he has, he wouldn't leave it.

Suddenly I had a new purpose, a new drive.

I was going to kill the motherfucker who took away the love of my life.

* * *

 **Hey Loves!**

 **This is a very short chapter due to several complications with writing and publishing it. First off, I was at my Papa's funeral Saturday and afterwards my close family members went camping without electronics in his memory, we got back today, so that delayed an update. Then while I was putting final touches on the former chapter 9, the site crashed and when i reloaded it, all my writing had the code displayed as well, so i had to edit that out and salvage what I could. However, despite the complications here is a small update for you all, and Chapter 10 will come out sometime before Friday to make up for this chapter.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the little taste of a new Rose, a Strigoi Rose, and a little Dimitri update. As I said, Chapter 10 will be much longer and more in depth, this is purely to make up for the time it would've taken to fix Chapter 9.**

 **If you are enjoying this story and want more, please please please review/favorite/follow, the more notice this story gets the better! I'll be back soon with a new chapter!**

 **I love you guys!**

 **~ _Livy_**


	11. Chapter 10

**Rose POV**

Everything had been fun and games until the smell of Mikeals flesh hit me, or more specifically, the smell of his blood.

After getting rid of the annoyance that was Mikheal, I had turned and scanned the now empty room. Mikheal's lap dogs had left on his orders some point after my transition process had begun, so I wouldn't have to deal with them anymore at least.

I was fine until about 5 minutes after throwing him out of the window, then the smell came, and it wasn't long before it consumed me.  
Bloodlust.  
I stumbled back a bit at how prominent the sensation was. It crept up on me so fast, so subtle. It felt like knives were carving into my throat, begging me to drench the thrist.  
But I had to wait until after the sun set before I could hunt.  
"Argg, fuck me." I said aloud, trying to drown out my thoughts and wait out the sun.

Oh, but the thoughts…. I'd never tasted blood purposefully before, I'd never even desired to before now. I could just imagine how amazing it would be.

I shook my head, trying desperately to think of anything other than the thirst inside me.

Trying desperately to wait this out.  
At first it was somewhat controllable, severely irritable and uncomfortable, but controllable, however slowly it seemed to eat away at my mind, making every rational thought disappear more and more until all that was left was blood.  
I need to eat.  
 _Now._  
Thankfully, the sun was finally starting to dip beneath the clouds enough for me to leave, so I readied myself. Not like there was much to prepare anyway.

I was brought here to die, so obviously I hadn't packed a bag or some shit. Fuck me, my hunger was making me pissed the fuck off more so than usual.  
I looked down at myself, to take my mind off my mood and the sensation causing it.

'I look like a fucking homeless person. Thanks a lot, asshole.' I thought, my insult directed at the corpse outside.  
There was no way there would be spare clothing laying around here, at least not the kind I was picturing, so the rags will have to do until I can find a store.

'Or a body', I laughed darkly to myself.  
When darkness finally consumed the world completely, I was more than ready to consume something of my own.  
I sprinted outside and took, what felt like, my first breathe of fresh air in years.

Holy fucking shit.  
I could smell _everything_. The grass, the trees, the earth, the soil, the animals, and an ever so faint trace of…...blood.  
Yes, _finally_.  
I used my new speed and darted toward the amazing smell, my entire body focused on this one task.

I'm just so damn hungry.  
I passed acres and acres of forest before I even came close to any form of civilization.  
Mikheal's estate lied in the absolute middle of fucking nowhere, so it took another ten minutes to reach the smell, even with my newfound, Strigoi speed.  
But soon enough I was close.

It couldn't have been more than 100 feet away now, so I slowed, my instincts kicking in and my body moving on it's own accord.  
I crouched in the tall grass as I scanned my surroundings. The forest had thinned out consideringly, and a small hut sat in the middle of the clearing in front of me.  
And in that hut lied the smell, the fresh blood circulating inside my meal.  
My predator instincts told me I could just charge the house, that anyone inside would be ever so easy to kill.

But I am a predator, and every predator loves a good hunt.

I came up with a little plan, and raised back up to my feet.  
"Help!" I screamed, "Please help me!"  
I raced toward the small house, using every bit of strength to maintain human speed, and began banging softly on the door.  
"Please help me! I'm lost and there's something chasing me, plea-"  
The door opened abruptly to a tall man, probably around 30 years old, holding a gun. He looked shocked to see me, probably given my appearance and the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere.  
'He's about to be even more surprised', I internally laughed at my own dark joke.  
"What's wrong? Are you okay? Here, come inside." He held the door for me, like any gentleman should. Huh, this world could definitely use a few more men like him, too bad I was about to end him.  
"Thank you so much!" I added a bit of desperation into my voice for effect. It worked like a charm.  
He opened the door wider for me, allowing me entrance, and closed the door softly behind me. "Now please, what's going on? Are you hurt? What's chas-...what the fuck?" his calm demeanor changed the instant he saw my face clearly, and suddenly fear filled him, I could smell it coming off him in waves.  
It was _so_ damn appetizing.  
I smiled, but nothing about what I was feeling was funny.

As I took in the smell of my meal, who was currently backing away from me slowly, something came over me. Something I couldn't fight, not that I wanted to fight it anyway.  
It told me to do what I craved, that there was nothing to stop me, no reason not to take exactly what I wanted from this man.  
So I did.  
I pounced on him, roughly pushing him against the wall. His scent filled my lungs making my throat burn. Growling, I ran my hand through his hair, grasping the strands between my fingers and pulling his head to the side.

"God," I gasped, taking in his sent once again, "you smell so damn _good._ " I whispered this in his ear, almost seductively as I pushed my body harder against his, "You make me so _hungry._ "

I pulled his head aside a bit more, and left my head fall on his shoulder.  
He cried out, struggling against me, "What the hell are you doing? Stop! Please stop!"  
I decided to reassure him a bit, afterall he should enjoy his last few moments alive, "Shh, you'll like it, I promise." With that I used my fangs to pierce his skin, filling my mouth with his warm blood.

Every bit of control I had left in my body was gone in that instant.  
I moaned into his neck, I've never tasted something so perfect in my life. The taste was coppery, but sweet, tangy but delicious. It was exhilarating, amazing, addicting.  
At first the man had screamed, most likely out of shock and panic, but after a few seconds he fell into the trance that is endorphins, falling to the ground and giving me better access at his neck. If it weren't for the fact that I will undoubtly suck him dry, he would've been addicted to my bite, craving it until the day he died.

The connection of predator and prey was odd and foreign to me still, but I knew that it would become one of my favorite things about this new life.  
I suppose I could've used him during my travels, but holy shit, his blood tasted amazing, and I was so fucking hungry…. there was no way I could've stopped.  
He was dead within minutes.  
Licking up the last drop, I tossed his corpse onto a cot that sat nearby, his final resting place now, and sank to the floor, admiring the pure contentedness that filled me.  
I had been so preoccupied with my meal that I hadn't taken the time to look around the house at all.  
It looked like a hunting cabin, with a kitchen placed to the far left corner, a living room to the right, and the small cot that sat in the very middle of the place. I laughed out loud, it all looked so unorganized, so dirty, so _human_.

' _You were once human too.'_ Ah great, the voice is back, can't I have some goddamn peace.  
But now my mind was filled with the voice, filled with thoughts that made me second guess shit I didn't want to second guess.

I had yet to consider the fact that I used to be somewhat like this person. Too lazy to clean, too filled with hope, dreams, emotions.  
In fact, I had yet to think much about my past life at all.  
Why would I? Everything was perfect now…...humans are blood bags, emotions get in the way of fun, life is meant to be taken advantage of, to be used as I please. That's it, nothing more.  
But that little voice in my head, the little piece of the old me, it wouldn't let me forget the people I loved, it wouldn't let me forget the home I had found in the academy, the love I'd left there.

"Goddamn it, _shut the fuck up!"_ I screamed at myself, I didn't need this right now, I should be celebrating my first kill, my first meal, not dealing with some transition defect that wouldn't pip the fuck down.

I banged my head against the wall once, just for good measure, but the voice was still there, telling me all the things I didn't want to hear.

' _You're missing something_ ' it repeated, over and over.  
' _You're missing someone'_

 **Lissa POV**

Lately, I don't even know what to do with myself.

I'm always tired because everytime I close my eyes I see Rose.

Rose being tortured, her blood dripping down a cold metal table while she screams.

Rose all alone, trapped in her own personal hell.

Rose dead.

I can't sleep.

All I want to do is lay around and cry, but Rose wouldn't want that. She'd want me to go out into the world and do things, 'experience life' as she'd call it.

What if I didn't want to experience life without her in it?

I mean hell, so far life without Rose has been miserable, and it's only been a week, two days, and 47 minutes, not that I'm counting.

What would the rest of my life look like if I couldn't get through a few days without wanting to quit, to give up on this world and join my best friend in another?

Without Rose came sadness, loneliness, depression, and of course the darkness, it seemed to consume me now.

I don't know what to do anymore.

Christian tries to help me, he brings me food I never eat, and sits with me for hours just talking, even when I feel like I can't respond. He's my rock….but even he can't fill the hole punched through my heart when Rose died.

I'm a mess.

"Oh Rose, if you could see me now." I signed, a stray tear falling down my face, if I wasn't careful, more would follow suit fast.

Thankfully, Christian broke me out of my thoughts.

"Hey Liss," he said softly, carefully coming to sit beside me on my bed, "I thought you'd like to read a few letters that have come in over the last week. Maybe distract yourself a bit?"

'Letters, really?' The little voice in my head said, it had a sarcastic tone to it...it reminded me of Rose.

At least he was trying.

Sighing, I nodded my head and took the small stack out of his hand and scanned my eyes over the first one.

Junk.

Scanning the second I placed it in the same pile as the first.

Picking up the third with a heavy sigh, I noticed it was...Wait, what the hell?

This is Rose's handwriting, less sloppy than usual, but Rose's nonetheless.

My eyes darted back up at Christian, to find him looking at the letter with his eyebrows pulled together, clearly questioning himself on this as well.

"Go get Adrian and Dimitri." I said, my voice raspy from lack of use, but rougher than I intended it to be toward him.

His head snapped at me talking, shocked at my voice, but he was quick to leave and search for them.

My eyes fell back down to the letter, to her handwriting.

I couldn't open it. Not yet anyway, not without everyone here. No, that would've been too selfish when this letter was probably the last thing she ever wrote. I sucked in a deep breathe to keep from crying, reminding myself that if she hadn't killed herself, she would be the exact thing she trained all her life to kill, the threat she died protecting me from, the monster she never wanted to become.

I held the letter tightly to my chest, hugging it as if it were her. But it wasn't, and I had to learn to face that, however hard it may be.

I sighed and placed it softly on my bed, next to me, I had nothing left to do but wait.

* * *

 **Hey Loves!**

 **I promised Chapter 10 before Friday, so here it is!**

 **So Rose is having a bit of identity trouble right now, huh? I want to clear a few things up about the story that may have not been as obvious as intended throughout the story, the little voice in Strigoi Rose's head is what's left of the Dhampir Rose, and she will be gone forever in a matter of two weeks or less, as Mikheal said, so when the voice is gone, the Rose we've all come to love will really be gone forever. QTSuzie3 wanted to kno what the phrase in Russian meant from chapter What do you think Rose will do next? (And yes, I know I skipped the last chapter's What's to Come, like i said before it was a really last minute chapter, sorry!**

 **What's To Come: A few words will change four peoples lives forever.**

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter and got to know Strigoi Rose a bit better! She'll be back soon, and as will I so don't go far! If you enjoyed Chapter 10 please review/favorite/follow!**

 **P.S. Change of Fate recently gained 11 reviews in ONE day! That may not seem like many, but when I saw the new reviews in my email I got such a huge grin on my face. This is the first time I have written and published a story, so to me 11 reviews in less than an hour blew my mind! Special thanks to those of you who review after every single chapter, you're dedication is remarkable, and I couldn't have imagined you would've taken such an interest in this story as you have, I'm so grateful to have such amazing readers! I couldn't be more inspired to write than when my phone buzzes in the middle of the day to let me know this story has a new review or follower behind it, it honestly makes my entire day so much better, so thank you all so so much!**

 **~ _Livy_ **


	12. Chapter 11

**Dimitri POV**

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The more I tried to ignore the loud, and quite obnoxious knocking on my door the louder it seemed to get.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

"Coming!" I yelled, but internally I was cursing the person who was interrupting my work, especially this late at night. You'd think the intruder would've just assumed I was asleep by now.

Ha, asleep. I honestly can't remember the last time I slept, I just knew that it must have been days ago. Between the constant nightmares and the urge to hunt down Roza's capturer, I can't close my eyes long enough to even consider sleeping.

Ever since I began my hunt for the tall, blonde Strigoi it's all that I've allowed myself to think about. It's a surprisingly easy distraction from the pain of Roza's death, and god knows I need it. To think about her is to die a little inside from loss, pain, and guilt. I knew it was my fault, that I could've saved her if I'd just tried, I could've saved her...even if it meant my dying, and knowing that killed me anyway.

So, I'm dedicating the rest of my existence to finding this Mikheal. For the last week, I've been searching, nonstop. I traced the location of the caves to several possible hideouts around, and slightly outside of the state, there were 7 possible locations for Mikheal to have taken Rose. They were remote, quiet, and most important untraceable to most, so little information on them that they almost didn't exist, but I found them and was planning to search them. Mikheal had most likely left after Roza's death, but tracing him to the proper location was a good start. Using the Moroi/Guardian database has been my biggest advantage, it held the information necessary to match a single name to the rest of that person's history. Over the course of three days I learned everything ever recorded on Mikheal Covington from his file and reported sightings:

 **Mikheal Covington File Report**

Full Name: Mikheal Lawrence Covington

Birth Date: March 18th, 1889

Death Date: September 22nd, 1924

Status: Deceased/ Strigoi

Age: 119 as Strigoi, frozen at age 35

Background Information: Mikheal Lawrence Covington was born to Marie Luis Covington and Robert Sanchez Covington on March 18 in the year of 1889. Mikheal was born a non-royal Moroi, and his parents had preferred to separate themselves from the supernatural world and live in peace with humans after Mikheal birth. He lived with his parents in the state of Maryland for 16 years before his father died in a mining incident, in the year of 1905. Mikheal remained with his mother until a year later when Marie Covington died of an unknown disease. Mikheal then sold his childhood home and moved to the new state of Washington to become a chief in a small, local diner. He became a successful cook there and found permanent residence nearby. During this time he became more accustomed to the supernatural world, learning most of his heritage during these few years, however, like his parents he grew to despise the way of the Moroi and decided to stay separate from the Kingdom's rule. He later married a Dhampir runaway by the name of Lucy Margaret Albright in the year of 1915. In the year of 1921, Lucy was reportedly pregnant with the couples first, and only, child. Alice Ann Covington was born the next year in 1922. The family remained in Washington until 1924. During this year, there was a suspected Strigoi attack on Lucy Covington, resulting in the capture of Lucy and Mikheal. Lucy was killed shortly after the turnage of Mikheal. It is suspected that Lucy was forced to watch the death and transition of Mikheal as a punishment of some sort. Their child's body was never recovered, although she is assumed dead. As a Strigoi, Mikheal is reported to be extremely unstable with a large hatred for the Moroi system, he is often the orchestrator of attacks on Court, royals, and occasionally academies, although he is not very sociable with other beings.

Warning: Extremely unpredictable, does not travel alone, do NOT approach without proper preparation.

 **-End of Data-**

When I had first read over his information, I had almost felt bad for the guy that Mikheal was before he was turned. Almost. I know how it feels to lose those closest to you, but no matter what kind of person he was as a Moroi, he was a monster now, a dangerous sociopath who took away the love of my life, and if I could, I would, without a doubt, go back in time and kill him before he even became a problem. Before he ever got to my Roza.

But I can't go back in time, I can only fix now. And I swear on my life, I would avenge Roza, no matter what it takes.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

The loud knocking kicked me out of my thoughts, and I jumped up to get to the door, shaking my head softly along the way with how easily I had been distracted. 'I'll never be able to take down a Strigoi like this, I need to sleep…' I pondered, turning the gold door handle to my two room apartment.

"What the he-...oh. Hello Christian." I said, surprised to see him this late, shouldn't he be with the princess?

After the initial shock of experiencing Roza's sacrifice, we had all been there for each other. Adrian, Christian, the princess, we had spent hours that day just reminiscing about Rose's life. We knew she'd want us to fill her role as protector much as we could for each other, because that's exactly what Roza was to us. A protector, a savior, a guardian angel. Rose had been Adrian's protector from himself, helping him separate himself from his bad habits and learning to manage his life in other ways; she had protected Lissa from all the darkness and the death in her life, including Strigoi; whenever Christian needed a friend to keep him from his dark thoughts, Roza was there to make a joke and crack a smile. And me? Roza had saved me from everything. She saved me from the rest of my existence as a Guardian with no purpose. Before her I was just surviving, treading through my life without goals, without dreams, without happiness. Roza….well, Roza showed me how to live, she gave me purpose, a reason to wake up in the morning and a reason to smile. She showed me how to love, and how to be loved, and that's all I really needed in life.

I just needed her.

Sadly, even though we had spent time together in the first day, we all fell back into our own, separate worlds after that. Adrian returned to drugs, Vasilissa returned to her darkness, Christian returned into himself, and I fell back into my mask, or my "Guardian shell" as Roza had called it, and I made my top priority tracking Mikheal and killing him. Rose had been the foundation of our friendships together, without her they seemed to fall apart.

That's why it was so odd for Ozera to be knocking at my door.

"Dimitri, thank god, what the hell took you so long to open the damn door?" he demanded panting, his eyes wild. His tone was completely unnecessary. "I was busy, now what do you need? Shouldn't you be with Vasilissa?" my voice was stern but not betraying the fact that I hunting Roza's killer. He didn't need to know that, especially with the current attitude he had toward me.

He signed, his eyes falling to the floor for a second before raising back to mine, "I'm sorry, we've all been under a lot recently and it's just catching up to me," he said, apologizing for his former accusing tone, "but you need to come with me. Now."

"What? Why?" I asked, my mind automatically going on high alert, heightening my senses. Was there something going on that I didn't know about? Had the remaining Strigoi come back to finish what they started?

He looked at me odd for a second, although he could hear my arbitrary thoughts, "It's important, Lissa got a letter from Rose."

I can't recall how many times my world has seemed to fall into slow motion in the last three weeks, but add this one to the list. Everything slowed down as soon as the words left Christian's mouth, and my current mental capacity couldn't process all the thoughts that immediately flooded my head. It's been almost two weeks since Roza had died, if she wrote it before her death, shouldn't it have come by now? Could someone else have sent it after her death as a last request of hers? If not, why was the letter so late?

Not wasting any time, I let my eyes wander back to Christians before taking off down the hall with one little thought still circling in my head. One last sliver of hope.

'Is she…..alive?'

 **Adrian POV**

I was on my seventh shot of Jack Daniels when I heard the banging.

"Arg, what the fuck do you want?" I screamed at the door. It's been days since I'd left my room for any purpose other than replenishing my alcohol supply, so at this point, most people knew to leave me alone.

Why was I planning on spending the rest of my miserable life in here?

Oh, it's simple really.

I hate myself. I hate how weak I've become without Rose in my life. I hate how dependent I am on alcohol and cigarettes to drown out my pain. I hate how she was the only goddamn thing in this goddamn world that could keep me from wasting my life in bottles and cigarette butts.

But the biggest reason I didn't want to leave?

I miss her….more than anything in the entire world, I miss her, and I simply can't imagine a functioning world without her in it. So I won't, I'll stay here and picture her with me.

I'd picture her beautiful smile, the way she blushed when she laughed, her passion, her drive, her loyalty, her unconditional love.

Mind you, I know she hadn't loved me the way I was in love with her. I know she had loved Belikov and I knew he loves her still, and perhaps that's what I hate most deep down. The fact that I was completely in love with a dead girl, and she had always loved another. Of course, I didn't blame Rose for this, I couldn't, they had something sparked before I even entered her life. I couldn't blame Belikov either. So, I blamed myself for loving her so much, for allowing myself to complicate her life even more when it was already so short. My loving her...it would be the most selfish thing I've ever done.

"Adrian, open the goddamn door!" Christian's voice startled me out of my drunken thoughts, as I quickly pulled myself up off the floor where I had earlier spent hours drinking and crying my life away.

Another thing I had failed at.

Rose didn't want me to live like this. I know that. After she came into my life, I'd let her in, she knew my issues, my dependence on drugs to ignore my problems. Rose had been the only person to tame that desire, to make me forget about the easy way out. I could heal wounds as a Spirit user, but I'd never been able to heal my own heart. Only Rose had been able to do that, and now she was gone.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Snapping back out of my thoughts, I strolled to the door, trying my best not to fall. Fuck, I was really wasted right now.

I lazily opened the door to reveal one pissed off Christian Ozera. "What do you want Christian?" I asked, sadness evident in my voice paired with obvious exhaustion, and a hint of alcohol.

"You're fucking drunk, great." he sighed heavily, but before I could criticize him for judging me he started to talk again, "Lissa got a letter from Rose." he spoke quickly, almost too quickly for my slowed mind to process, but once it did, I didn't know what to say.

Rose was dead. You can't send letters from the 'great beyond' or whatever the fuck was waiting behind death.

But there was a letter...so maybe?

No, I can't let myself believe in fairytales, Rose was dead, I'd seen it happen. Believing in something as far fetched as her being alive would only repeat the pain I had already begun to go through. But if there was a letter, it could've been sent before her death….

"Let's go." And with that, I was out the door.

We raced down the hall, going as fast as my intoxication would let me, and by the time we arrived at my cousins room my adrenaline had sobered me up sufficiently. I opened the door roughly, letting it hit the wall behind the doorframe.

Lissa and Dimitri were sitting at her small, round table next to the living room, a single envelope before them.

Meeting their eyes, I walked to the table and softly picked up the paper, scanning over the writing on the cover.

Holy shit.

It was true.

There was no denying this was her handwriting.

I brought my eyes up to the other three, Christian now seated beside Lissa. Their eyes held the same sadness I knew mine had, but there was a hint of something else there now, some level of faith, some level of hope…..hope that maybe Rose would get to say goodbye after all?

I mean what else could this be?

Finally, I gathered my bearings enough to sit down, leaving only one seat unattained….that was Rose's seat.

I took a deep breathe, ripping my eyes away from the empty chair and instead, redirecting them to the three people across from me, "Who should open it?"

It was silent for what seemed like a really long time after that, everyone either still processing the fact there was even a letter to open or lost in thought about it.

The first to answer me was Lissa, "I don't think I'll be able to get through reading it aloud….would you do it, Adrian?"

I looked to Dimitri, he would be the only other person who should be able to read this over me, but his eyes stayed fixed on the table in front of him, he wasn't going to object.

I nodded softly, and began to open the envelope, careful not to rip across Rose's handwriting, and unraveled the folded piece of paper inside. I can't believe this is happening.

Taking a deep breathe I began;

 _Lissa,_

 _Please have Dimitri, Adrian, and Christian join you for the reading of this letter. The information is very important._

I paused, taking a quick glance over the paper at the my cousin, she was still calm, but a few stray tears had escaped. If I was going to finish reading this, I knew I couldn't stop anymore. This was it.

 _First off, let's get this straight, this is your fault, all of yours, and no, I'm not talking about my death. I'm talking about yours. You see, this stupid little voice in my head keeps telling me I need you in my life. I DON'T need anyone. Not anymore._

'Wait…..what the actual fuck? Our death? Her death? She couldn't have written this before she died, could she? She seemed so angry...' I thought. I need to know what's going on, and scanning the three people in front of me, I knew they did too.

 _As you have probably noticed I'm not dead._

My entire world froze at those two little words…

Rose….Rose isn't dead? No, there is no fucking way, I watched her kill herself! I've been grieving her for a week! Could this be real? I had to be dreaming, right?

"Not possible….." the words escaped my mouth without my consent, but I didn't care, it's what we were all thinking anyway. I held my breathe, I couldn't look up, I couldn't see their faces. I had to finish this.

 _In fact, I feel more alive than ever. I'm smarter._

I sucked in a breathe. 'Please no.'

 _Stronger._

God no, please no.

 _Better than I ever was as a Dhampir, and I suppose that brings us to my next point._

 _I've been awakened._

It's funny how three little words can change your life, words like "I love you" or "I'll marry you" or "Don't leave me." Three little words can make or break your entire world. These three words broke mine. I was in shock, of that I had no doubt. All traces of alcohol had left my system by now, and all that was left was the pain and the guilt and the sorrow. Rose had done everything in her fucking power to prevent this. She fucking killed herself to prevent this! We watched her die, and still she was cursed to become the worst possible version of herself, to be pushed away and locked deep inside herself while someone else took over her thoughts and actions.

"No…...God no, please no…" I could hear Lissa's muffled cries as Christian wrapped his arms around her, his tears soaking into her sleeves. And Belikov….his eyes were locked on the letter in my hands, his usual mask was gone, replaced with something I'd only seen one other time before. His eyes were filled with a battle, one even I knew he wouldn't win as tears fell heavily down his face. Rage, defeat, loss, so much was reflected from his aura to his eyes, betraying his emotions. His fists were clenched together so tightly his knuckles were white. If he was broken before, he was in pieces now.

I let my eyes fall back to the words on the letter, my brain trying to process this. Rose was Strigoi. Rose was...Strigoi. Ro-Rose was Strigoi.

No, there's no way.

"Adrian…." I tried to follow the voice, but my eyes wouldn't budge.

"Adrian…..hand me the paper…." I looked up slowly, I had so much to say, so much to express but I was frozen, and for the life of me all I could do was nod once as Christian took the paper softly out of my hands.

He scanned over it, finding where I could no longer continue and beginning to read once more, Lissa still tucked under his arm tightly.

 _Now I know exactly what you're thinking, "This is terrible!" "Rose wouldn't want this!" "She's a monster!" "She might as well be dead" But what you should understand is that I finally understand life. I'm fine, great even. And believe me, I would like nothing more than to be dead to you. To leave you all behind, in the life I was saved from. I wanted to leave you alone, let you forget about me and never cross paths again, I really, truly did._

 _But there's a problem, remember the little voice I told you about? Yeah, for it to go away I have to kill you. All of you._

 _Christian paused slightly there, glancing worriedly at all of us before returning to reading._

 _It's really simple, you see you were all a huge part of my life before my awakening, and now for me to be free...you must die.I want you to know that this won't be fun for me, I really didn't want to have to deal with the four of you, but to live my life the way I want I must be free of the things that tied to me Rosemarie Hathaway, Dhampir and future Guardian of Princess Vasilissa. I will be free to live my life in the beautiful destruction I'm supposed to live in. So, I suppose I should warn you now. If you think I was badass before, I'm much much more so now. I'm dangerous. I'm not afraid to hunt each of you down and kill you slowly and painfully if I'm forced too._

 _My tip to you? Don't try to run, don't try to hide. Make this easy for me, and I'll return the favor. Make it hard and you will each suffer the consequences of that decision._

 _I'm leaving you a bit of time to make your preparations, but I'll be seeing you all very soon._

 _With love,_

 _Rose_

* * *

 **Haha! Surprise! I woke up this morning to a new computer, so here's your new chapter!**

 **Sorry that took so inevitably long guys, I decided to order my new laptop online and get faster shipping which worked out, eh?**

 **This chapter almost 2,000 words longer than any of the others (partly because you guys had to wait so long for it), and as the story progresses the chapters will most likely get longer and longer, so you're welcome for that ;)**

 **Also, if you read my update before it was deleted than you know my computer recently broke so during the little break between Chapter 10 and Chapter 11 where I couldn't write, I had taken to paper and used 15 pages to map out the entire plot of this story, and boy is it gooooddd. I'm so so excited to see how you all react to this story the deeper we get into it!**

 **Now, about Chapter 11! Rose's letter is one of many turning points this story will have, but it is one of the first major one to setting the scene to the rest of the story...because of it's importance I think I had rewritten it at least 15 times before I decided on this one, so it's really important for me to hear what you guys think of it!**

 **What's To Come: Rose is struggling internally with life changing decisions. How will the gang react to the new Strigoi Rose?**

 **As always I hoped you all enjoyed this update! And I will see you very soon with the next one!**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **~ _Livy_**


	13. Chapter 12

**Rose POV**

I set up a temporary residence in the cabin after dragging out its owner's body and tossing it carelessly into the woods nearby. I could deal with that later.

Most strigoi could go several days between feeding, especially after such a large meal, but my age slightly complicated that so I made plans to remain here for three days before traveling more inland.

The cabin was the perfect place for me to lay low for a few days and let my mind settle. Of course, that was nearly impossible considering my mind wouldn't even shut the fuck up. The voice had gotten more prominent the longer I tried to ignore it, and within just a few hours at the cabin I had already lost my temper with it, completely trashing the entire place in my aggravation.

I had used my pent up anger to fuel my hate for the voice, and decided to further research it, going out of my way to find the cabin man's laptop and hack into the Moroi database (by hack I mean I used the only password I knew to get in, Dimitri's). All the information about the supernatural world was contained here. Information on Moroi, Dhampir, Guardians, Strigoi, Alchemists, _everything…..._ all stored in one secret website, kept under just a secure password, fake app, and a few firewalls.

Finding information on the voice wasn't easy simply because there wasn't much to go off of, a few reported rumors, some complete bullshit, all just stories, nothing concrete, nothing real.

' _But Mikheal had said the voice was normal, that it was common after the awakening….if it was so common, wouldn't the Moroi know all about it?_ ' I thought. I began to grow impatient as I scrolled upon the oldest article in the selection, clicking it open:

 _Date: 1812_

 _Article: Insane Strigoi?_

 _Author: Arthur Stiggens_

 _Description: This article was written by a late, non-royal Moroi by the name of Arthur. The article states Arthur and his colleague were attacked late at night by a Strigoi, but she had not attacked to kill them or feed upon them, instead Arthur recorded the Strigoi fell to her knees in front of them and begged them to kill her, screaming, "Please just shut it up, it won't shut up, just kill me please." There was no noise around the three except for soft music coming from a bar down the street, which could have been easily avoided by the monster. When Arthur and his colleague, who he called Sara, tried to get away from the Strigoi, she had pounced on Sara and instantly sunk her fangs into Sara's flesh so aggressively she tore skin out her neck. Arthur had run immediately into a nearby bar to call the Alchemists. Sara's body wasn't recovered and the female Strigoi wasn't seen again._

"What the fuck?" I sat on the hard floor of the cabin for a very long time after reading that, attempting to process it. This article sounded accurate based on my experiences, the voice drove me to extremes but…...had the voice eventually driven this women completely insane? Am I sure this is even a reliable article? How long had she endured the voice before getting to the brink of her mind and losing it? That couldn't happen to me…..could it?

I mean being awakened was easily the best thing that's ever happened to me. It saved me from my future of becoming a Guardian and dying young to save someone who's life I should've never valued over my own, and I was very willing to accept my new diet and lifestyle if it meant keeping this freedom… hell I even enjoyed the lifestyle and diet. But the voice, it was the exact opposite of who I am now. It cared about them more than itself, more than _me,_ and the thought of hurting people outraged it, causing me extreme headaches, worse than Spirit had ever caused me as a Dhampir,

I got even more pissed when I finally realized Mikheal had lied to me. When I told him about the strange, persuasive voice inside my head, he must've thought I was just crazy and brushed it off, telling me some lie to get me to shut up, then after I took the blood oath he would've commanded me to never speak of it again, letting it torture me for years.

This voice inside of me wouldn't just fade away. No, that would be too easy, this voice was permanent, it was something he had expected me to live with for eternity. I wasn't stupid enough to believe living with it was possible, I knew that something had to change, especially after reading about the Strigoi woman from the 1800s.

I couldn't lie to myself anymore and say that I was free, that I was happy. I wasn't fucking happy, I was fed up. Sick of fighting myself and sick of feeling lost. I had to get rid of it, this remnant of the Dhampir had to go, I wasn't that scared little girl anymore. I couldn't be that scared little girl anymore. I was in a whole new world now, a new reality, and it was harsh, and dangerous, and beautiful. I refused to give it up because of some sick left over.

So, I made my preparations. It wasn't hard to figure out exactly how I'd have to free myself. The voice centered around four things, four people. I knew for me to be truly free those people would have to die, I knew it was either me or them, so of course I chose me.

At my finality the voice had been outraged, creating such a racket of thoughts and even slight waves of emotions, that I had knocked myself out cold the second they began. There was no way to understand the sensations that stupid voice caused me. It was unexplainable. Strigoi are heartless creatures, _I_ am a heartless creature created by nature to be a predator, to be completely selfish. Not to _feel_ or to _care_ or to even _think_ about others more than myself. This voice wasn't natural, I knew that now, and it was only a matter of time before I got rid of it or it got rid of me. There was no way around it.

I knew I needed to make a disposal plan for my four prey.

I knew I had the element of surprise beside me, considering they believed I was dead, but that would be too easy. ' _These four people were good, strong vampires'_ , I knew that already, but of course the voice had no desire in letting me forget it. ' _If they must die it must be of their own consent.'_

The letter was either the best thing I could've done…..or the worst.

It gave away the element of surprise, but it pacified the voice enough to subside it temporarily allowing me time to truly process my situation, and I was satisfied with the prospect of a proper hunt. Now they knew the truth, their reactions would be the death of them one way or another. A part of me was relieved with this, but the voice, grew more and more anxious as the days drew on and my finality grew stronger. As my Strigoi side grew to be more and more dominant, the mortal part of me, the part that shouldn't even exist, grew too. It was as if the two were prepping for battle, figuring out which one of them would be strong enough to completely take me over.

I was weaker because of it, not physically of course, but mentally I was much to gullible for my liking. This voice was going to be the fucking death of me.

Shaking my head lightly, I took myself out of my thoughts and back to the task at hand. I had spent four days at the cabin, one too many, and my thirst had begun to rise once again, reminding me to finish packing and start driving.

The man who owned the place must have been married because the drawers next to the tiny cot held a few female possessions, obviously his spouse didn't come here often, but she'd left behind enough clothes for me to change, shower, and still have three outfits to bring with me. I had packed those clothes inside a small duffel bag along with a few toiletries to keep myself looking fresh. Once I was in the city it would be important to keep my appearance up if I wanted to lure prey easily, which would become imperative during my hunt for my former friends. I'd need to be at my strongest to fight off the voice and focus on killing them.

Sighing, I took one last look around the tiny cabin to ensure I hadn't left anything behind before shuffling around in my pocket for the sole match I had found in the designated "junk drawer" of the house. Finding it, I leaned softly against the outdoor shed, using the wooden door to strike the match and tossing it carelessly into the already gasoline soaked flooring of the cabin, setting it aflame. Fire was the easiest way to destroy any traces of evidence, although my fingerprints wouldn't be in the human's system, there were others who could potentially come looking for me given my newly awakened state. Not bothering to look back at the burning house I turned toward my new destination, hopping into the driver's side of the truck and speeding down the one way dirt road.

The majority of the drive would be fairly secluded, so I figured headlights wouldn't be necessary, considering being Strigoi came with the upgrade of night vision. Such a bright contrast of the light on the dark would eventually give me a headache. Besides, the worst that could happen is I get pulled over and have a snack.

I chuckled to myself, pulling a dusty map out of the glove box. Through emblems on the cabin mans shirts I learned that I was currently in Stanley, Idaho, one of the smallest goddamn towns in the world, and of fucking course it was over 300 miles away from the academy. Normally I'd have enjoyed the drive, imagining every possible scenario of my preys future death, reveling in the joy I'd experience. However, normally I wouldn't have any remnants of my old self to basically scold me everytime I try to enjoy death or destruction of absolutely anything, especially my old friends.

So basically this would be the longest, quietest drive of my life. Wonderful.

About five minutes in I was already losing my mind. Yep, one thing that hadn't changed through my transition was my absolute lack of ability to maintain silence. I took one glance at the radio and immediately reached out to turn it on.

I scanned through the stations impatiently. Static. Static. Static.

I was about to give up when I came across a faint whisper of a song. I tuned the radio closer to the music's proper station, sucking in a deep breathe when I finally found it.

"Live fast, die young

Bad girls do it well

Live fast, die young

Bad girls do it well"

Almost instantly I was taken back to that night. The one of the Dragomir's car accident. The one of my first death.

It was pitch black, much like the night of reality. I turned toward my right to find Lissa smiling and laughing loudly, basically screaming the lyrics to "Bad Girls" in my ear while she latched onto my arm, lightly leaning against me as she sang. Andre rolled his eyes across from me, but even he smiled slightly at the sight. Eric and Rhea sat up front, Eric smiling and laughing along with Lissa, while Rhea smiled in the rear view mirror at her me and daughter. I could hear myself sing along and laugh with Lissa as I laid my head on her shoulder. In the memory I was having the time of my life with my best friend and my fill in family, but outside of it I knew what was coming next.

Everything slowed down as I saw the car's headlights finally come into view. Both vehicles were traveling at very high speeds as the second car swerved sharply at the last possible second- directly into our lane. Every single instinct in my body rushed to find a way to protect Lissa, to protect my family, but even the memory me knew it was too late as the two vehicles collided.

I gasped loudly, being thrown back into reality, running my eyes over the truck and the road as I couldn't help but take several deep breathes.

"Holy shit." I gasped, trying to regain my composure. 'What the hell was that?'

"Bad Girls" was still blaring through the truck's speakers, as I roughly gripped the wheel, my knuckles white at the hold. As I calmed down from the intrusiveness of that memory, I realized that the song must of triggered it, another thing that wasn't supposed to be possible for Strigoi. We weren't supposed to be forced to relive our past experiences. They were supposed to be detached, empty images that we could view at anytime with no emotions in the mix….but this….this made me feel exactly like I had that night, and it _hurt_. Not because of the crash or my death, but reliving the accident that killed people I cared about so dearly, that left a fresh ache inside me, an ache that should've died along with Dhampir Rose weeks ago.

Angrily I slammed on the brakes and turned off the radio, taking several more breaths to calm my nerves.

I couldn't deal with this anymore, this piece of shit voice was finally pushing on my last nerve, finally _forcing_ my hand..

"Just a few more hours and it'll be over, Rose." I reminded myself. "Just a few more hours…" I smirked, shifting the truck back into drive and pulling back onto the road. Just a few more hours and my past life will be as it should, almost a nonexistent memory, and the four most important people in it will be dead.

The voice must've used all it's "power" (or whatever the fuck fueled it) to put me back inside my memory, because as I continued to drive in the silence, envisioning death, it had absolutely nothing to say.

The hours seemed to drag on into years as I drove past miles and miles of forests and mountain ranges. Time grew longer and longer as I felt my insides remind me of the fact that I was now a vampire. My stomach formed knots, my throat burned sharply, and it became harder and harder to focus on anything other than draining someone. It had been several days since the last time I quenched my thirst, which would have been fine if I were better acquainted with my new body and my control over my thirst, which I worried was almost non-existent.

If anything useful came out of all my years at the academy, it was the large knowledge base I had on my species. I knew that I, as a newly turned Strigoi, would find it much harder to keep my bloodlust under control than a Strigoi of many years. It was amazing I had lasted this long without falling under the trace of the bloodlust, but I suppose I was a bit distracted planning Lissa, Dimitri, Christian, and Adrian's deaths.

My growing thirst surged at their names at the same time the voice returned, screaming at me for growing hungry at the mention of their names. Their bloodshed.

"Damn it." I cursed, scanning the vacant landscape for a relief. A small, white roadsign sat about a mile in the distance. Concentrating all my built up energy on my eyesight I read the sign from the distance, careful to keep the truck on the road.

" **Darby in 25 miles** "

Thank fuck.

I rode out the 25 miles in quiet tension, focusing all my energy on driving to Darby as fast as inhumanly possible in the pitch black. Thanking whatever kind of being granted my kind night vision.

I made it to the outskirts of Darby in record time, traveling the 25 miles in less than 10 minutes using my abilities and total lack of fear.

It was easy to see that Darby, Montana was a very, very small town. Tiny shops lined the streets on both sides and there wasn't a single modern building around, this place looked like a setting in one of Dimitris western novels.

I immediately smacked myself for thinking of him, knowing that the voice came around much quicker whenever I thought about any of the old "gang".

Sighing loudly, I turned my focus to my senses, using them to locate a heartbeat that was fully active and awake. I had a strong feeling that blood would taste better coming from someone who was equally entranced in the endorphins of the blood and the bite as I was. Besides, what's a prize without the hunt?

I locked onto the sound of several beating hearts nearby and began the take down process.

Parking the truck on the side of the street, I walked closer to the sound, following it down the street, around the corner, and right to a brightly lit gas station. I almost staggered at the sight. After so many hours of pitch black, the sudden light was extremely overwhelming, basically blinding me. Instead of waiting for my eyes to adjust to the new setting, I marched forward, using my arm as a blockade to the light.

The gas station was probably the most modern building I had seen in Darby so far. It was pretty big, the corners of the stone wall reaching across the entire lot, a good 500 feet on each side of the shimmering glass doors.

I grunted at the light and grasped the cold door handle roughly, pulling it open with an unnecessary amount of force.

Walking into the station I lowered my arm slightly, my eyes finally getting used to the fluorescent lights above me. I glanced around, shelf after shelf of snacks and on-the-road necessities lined the floor in neat organization, and in-wall refrigerators covered the outline of the room. I could feel the presence of three others in the room, all mundane and all staring at me.

"Hi! Welc-come to Biggs Gas and Go…." the teenage girl at the counter stuttered slightly as she said her signature line, even attempting a smile. I snapped my head toward her. She was very pretty, long blonde hair, fair skin, blue and green eyes….she almost looked like Lissa. Well, minus the eyes and she definitely lacked Lissa's royalty demeanor. I would've laughed at the intimidation in her eyes if I wasn't so hungry.

I knew she had to be my victim, her resemblance to Lissa pissed me off and I couldn't have that now, could I? Not even bothering to look over the other two, I used my speed to snap their neck, letting the one closest to the girl's counter fall slowly out of my grasp for effect.

It worked.

The girl screamed loudly, crying out as she looked frantically from the bodies to me and back to the bodies. My Strigoi side, the side that was completely and utterly evil smirked at her reaction and caused me to giggle, which only made the girl more spastic. She looked at me one last time before she tried to run- she actually tried to run -away from me and out the back door. Obviously she was stupid, I mean I just used my speed right in front of her and she still thought she might make it away from me. I laughed loudly as she tried to pass me, tilting my foot out slightly, tripping her and throwing an arm out to catch her right after. She thrashed in my hold, but a few squeezes and she realized there was no way to break my grip.

I laughed manically as she began to sob, giving up, and fell to the floor, curling up in a ball and rocking herself. "P-p-ple-please d-don't kill m-me. P-please!" She begged, hiding her face in her hands as she cried.

 _Pathetic._

I crouched down next to her shaking form and lifted her hands slightly, "Look at me." I commanded, using a tone no one would dare refuse. When she met my eyes I smiled softly, but it was all part of the show of course. I wanted to give her a bit of false security, a bit of false hope, that maybe she wouldn't die after all. The same false hope I'd had after I was taken by Mikheal.

"What's your name?" I asked, coating my malice in a soft gentleness and softly taking her hands in my own.

Her eyes darted to our hands and quickly back up to my face, she was still terrified, but I could see doubt forming in her eyes. Internally I burst into laughter, how naive of her. Humans were so so weak, _that_ is why they are food.

"Steph…" she whispered, her voice still shaking.

I was dying of laughter on the inside, how easy could she really make this? It was almost too easy to enjoy, and any other time I would've just killed her because of my lack of amusement, but her odd innocence and my hunger allowed me to see past my almost boredom.

"Well, Steph, I promise that this will only hurt a second, then you'll feel amazing, better than anything, okay?" I didn't wait for her answer, I'd had enough of the game for one night. She screamed again when I lifted her wrist to my mouth, biting into it and relishing the taste of her blood. So innocent. So pure. So _dead._

Just like last time, the girl easily fell into the ecstasy of endorphins, making my killing her easy and quick, and was dead in less than two minutes, sucked dry in three. Sometimes I wish the food didn't get pleasure out of it, it would be so much more _fun_ that way.

After my meal I ransacked the store, finding some spare clothing and lighters for future endeavors. I also went ahead and helped myself to the cash in the register before opening a case of the lighters, dropping them around the store and then walking out toward a gas tank. I tossed a couple of dollars in the machine, buying some gas to spread on the concrete. Careful to avoid the flame I lit the lighter and tossed in onto the ground, using all my speed to race toward the truck, get in, and drive away before the explosion wakes the entire neighborhood. As I sped away I laughed hysterically, revealing in the beautiful destruction I'd just caused.

I can't wait to do it again.

* * *

 **Hahaha! An extra, evil-filled Strigoi Rose chapter! No other POV's in this one because I wanted to emphasis more on the 'voice' (as it will be called throughout the rest of the story) and just how corrupt a Rose-turned-Strigoi can be! Besides, this is Rose's story after all, and I feel like she hasn't gotten enough spotlight yet. Of course, I've already started writing the next chapter and it has a lot of Dimitri POV in it, so don't worry! The various POV's will continue!**

 **Since this chapter was a lot more Rose focused, I really want to know what you guys think about Strigoi Rose! Am I playing her off well? Is she just as badass and evil as you all thought she'd be? Is she too evil? All things to take into consideration because within the next five chapters all the characters will be reunited, and that can mean a lot right now... *cue evil laugh***

 **One last thing, my schooling has begun once again, as you may have noticed it took me a bit longer to get this update out, so I am going to make a fixed time for updates. Change of Fate (COF) will, as of now, be updated once every two weeks on Wednesdays! (To clarify updates will be every other Wednesday, starting this week on Eastern Standard time). That way I'll have plenty of time to write and it won't be monthly updates (as a current fanfiction reader, I know those longer waits suck sometimes!). Hopefully this can be the best of both worlds for you guys and me!**

 **Anyhow, I hope you loved this update! And, as always, it's been a pleasure!**

 **Thank you for reading, and I'll see you guys soon!**

 **~Livy**


End file.
